When Worlds Collide
by loveXtoXwrite
Summary: This is a story about two boys, each living in their own personal hell. Both are broken seemingly beyond repair, but when their worlds collide by a random chance of fate, is it to late for each to heal the other? Story is better than summery!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so I know I've already done this, but I went through this story and revised it a little. Not too much has changed, just a couple details and I rewrote a couple things to make it more understandable. I must warn you, I might do this a couple more times as I go. Anyway, I hope you like it :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the story line. **

**One last thing, IMPORTANT: To those of you who haven't read this yet, the first chapter is the shortest one I have, and there are parts in the flash back that you probably won't like, but this chapter is the worst of it (You'll understand what I mean once you've read it.) After this chapter the morbid parts calm down alot. I just ask you to see this chapter through, it's my least favorite part, but it's necessary to the story.  
**

**Chapter one**

**A day in the life of a typical teenage prostitute.**

**Atem's pov**

_I_ was blankly staring at my computer screen, trying in vain to actually read the words on the page I pulled up, talking about World War II. I had a report due tomorrow, that was supposed to be about one of the wars that shaped America. Stifling an eye roll just thinking about it, I looked at the clock, sighing in resignation as I read 5:10 a.m. I had to start getting ready in less than an hour. I didn't even notice the time fly by as the night went on. '_Great. He's gonna be pissed if he finds out about this._' I thought, picturing my father's –And I use that term _very_ loosely-face if he knew I'd stayed up all night, no doubt it'd turn out bloody. I reached a hand up to my recently broken nose, reliving the last time I had stayed up all night, which had resulted in said broken nose.

**Flash Back: Two weeks earlier.**

_I stared blankly down the street waiting for the man that was supposed to pick me up after school. My eyes would barely stay open, and I yawned slowly. I was hoping to delay this moment as much as I could, but unfortunately, time flew by just as fast as it would have if I had slept. I sighed as I scolded myself for staying up, knowing my exhaustion was just going to make things worse... _'If I can even stay awake long enough for this idiot pervert to get here…'

_"Atem, what are you still doing here? School's been out for half an hour."_

_I jumped at the sound of my name, looking around for whoever was talking. My eyes finally rested on Mrs. Morgan, my gray haired math teacher, who seemed to have a vendetta against anything out of the ordinary._

_Scolding myself internally for being so easily snuck up on, I searched for a good excuse, coming up blank. 'Think damn it! Think!' _ "_I… uh, I'm just waiting for an old family friend to come get me, he's only in town for a little while, and he wanted to spend some time with me, just the two of us, before he leaves. Heh… he must have gotten caught in traffic or something, but he'll be here soon." I smiled at her, hoping she would buy it. _

_Luckily, though she didn't look fully convinced, she took my word for it, and turned around to get into her car, muttering something about young men, and there constant shenanigans. _

_About fifteen minutes after the teacher had left, the man finally pulled up into the almost empty parking lot. _

_"Well… here goes nothing." I muttered to myself before getting into the man's red 2005 Eclipse. The seat was so comfortable, I was half asleep the entire ride, only half listening to the old man talk. _

"_You see, I don't really do this vary often, and… well, I've never done this with a man before." _

_I sighed, comfortably sinking a little more into the seat, my brain not fully registering what he was talking about doing, and _who _he was talking about doing it with._

"_Just relax, it'll be fine."_

"_But what if someone finds out! They would think of me as a perverted fag!" The man practically cried. _

_I just sat there, thinking of things to say to comfort the old man… What did he say his name was again? I know my father told me…_

"_The only way someone would find out is if one of us tells. I'm definitely not gonna tell, I'd die first" '_Literally'_. "So that just leaves you. It'll be completely up to you who finds out." _

_The man finally shut up, relaxing in his seat. _

"_Finally", the man sighed in relief. "We're here." He got out of the car, and started towards one the motel rooms. _'Jeez, you'd think a guy with so much money would get a less disgusting place.'_ I thought to myself, sluggishly getting out of the car to follow him inside. "I'll be right out." The old man called to me from the bathroom. So I decided to get comfortable, lying on the bed. My eyelids were getting to heavy to keep up, so I let my eyes close, while I waited for him to come out of the bathroom. The next thing I knew, I was on my stomach, my pants and boxers were around my ankles, and I felt something penetrate me. I flew off the bed, and had my back against the wall farthest from whoever had touched me in a millisecond, breathing a hundred miles a minute. There was a startled yell, and sudden pounding on the door. I looked around, and pulled my pants back up, slowly gaining my memory of the past twelve hours back. When I finally remembered what I was doing here, I cursed under my breath, knowing I fucked up. Bad. He already knew what had happened the second it did. He always set up cameras when ever I had to do this, to make sure I was doing what I was supposed to. Dreading what was coming, I watched the man cower under the blankets as I opened the door for my father._

"_What the hell do you think you're doing boy?" He yelled, backhanding me. I rubbed my cheek, closing my eyes from the pain._

"_I'm sorry sir! I… fell asleep, and…" I was at a loss for words, how could I explain to this man what had happened? He'd probably kill me on the spot, hell he was probably already contemplating that right now. Man do I wish that's what he decided to do. Instead, he pulled some rope out of a black bag I hadn't noticed he was carrying, and told me to give him my hands. I did as I was told, letting him tie them together in front of me, so tight it felt like they were going to pop off. I held back a whimper, and just looked at my so called _father_, hoping for mercy. No such luck. Big surprise. He pushed me onto the ground and once again, my pants and boxers were around my ankles. _

"_I'll teach you respect boy, if it's the last thing I do!" He looked at the old man, signaling him to come over. "My apologies sir, I promise it won't happen again. This time will be free of charge." He smiled at the man, as he walked over to where we were. As hard as I tried to keep it back, I couldn't stop the soft whimper from escaping my lips. My father's head snapped to me, eyes practically bulging from his head. He pushed me over on my side, and kicked me in the stomach. The old man looked like he was about to have a heart attack._

"_Um, actually, I think I might be running late… I need to go." And without another word, he sprinted out the door, slamming it shut behind him. I was in trouble. More trouble than I had ever even imagined possible. I looked up to see my father's wicked smirk. He pushed me back over onto my stomach. _

"_Well boy, It looks like I get the pleasure of teaching you this lesson by myself." _

"_Please no, God no, anything but this sir! I swear I'll make it up to you! Just please, please don't do this." I begged him, practically crying._

"_I taught you to never raise your voice to me boy!" He yelled, grabbing me by the hair, and smashing my face into ground. I heard a crack, and felt warm liquid gush from my nose. He just laughed a harsh and merciless laugh, unzipping his pants and pulling them down. I tried crawl to the bathroom, but he was to fast._

_His hand was around my ankle in a heartbeat, pulling me back, still laughing. He put an arm around my waist so I couldn't try to get away again, but I wouldn't give up, I kept struggling, trying to wiggle out of his grip. But it was to no end. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain as he forced himself into me, and I cried out, still struggling to get away. Blood was still gushing from my nose, and the more I squirmed, the harder it was to breath. Every time I moved, more blood gushed out, half of it getting into my mouth. I tried to call out for someone to help me, but choked as I inhaled the treacherous red liquid. _

_My body was already tired from the lack of sleep, so it didn't take long for me to tire myself out completely. I finally stopped trying to get away, and just closed my eyes, giving in._

**End of flashback:**

I sighed, and turned my computer off, so I could go wake Marik up, to get ready for school. As I opened the door to his room, I just stared at the sleeping seven year old. He was so happy, so full of innocence. This was what I had sworn to protect since the day he was born. He was going to keep his innocence for as long as I could help it.

**Yugi's pov. **

_Tic_

_Tic_

_Tic_

I looked up at the clock, and wanted to cry when I saw it was only 2:06. 'Well… at least it's only one more hour…' I thought to myself, getting restless. The doctors didn't know how long my mother had left, but they knew she didn't have more than a couple weeks, and there I was, stuck in school when I should have been taking care of her! I sighed and was about to start another problem on my geometry when the phone rang. Trying not to be to obvious I listened closely to the one sided conversation when I felt Mr. Freeman's eyes on the back of my head.

"Oh, uh… yeah of course… I'll be sure to tell him… yeah, you too… bye."

I told myself I was just imagining things, he could be talking about anyone.

"Mr. Motou, can I have a word with you in the hall please?"

_Crap._ I nodded, dreading hearing what he had to say. Walking out of the classroom I prayed it wasn't about my mother. As I closed the door, Mr. Freeman put his hand on my shoulder, and looked into my eyes sadly.

"I'm so sorry Yugi, Your mother passed away about an hour ago. Your neighbor found her when he went to check up on her."

I felt my head spinning. 'No. This can't be happening.' I thought as I sunk down onto the floor.

"Maybe you should take the rest of the day off, if you want I can give you a ride home?"

"No, it's okay, I'll walk…" I said shakily getting to my feet and walking to the office to sign out. As I was walking out the front doors of the school my mind went blank. I let my feet carry me, not really knowing were I was going. I didn't care where I was going, I just wanted to get away. When I stopped I wasn't exactly sure where I was, but I liked it. The scenery was amazing, something you didn't come across often living in the city. It was a small meadow with a little stream running through it. I sat down next to the stream, and listened intently on the running water, letting my thoughts flow away with it, not noticing the guy across the river from me.

**Atem's pov.**

I skipped class today, not really in the mood to listen to my teacher scold me for not turning in my essay. I decided to go to the meadow my mother liked to take my father and I to on picnics. I knew I could get some rest there. I lie down next to the stream, and slowly let myself drift to sleep. When I woke up, I heard soft cries coming from somewhere down the stream. I looked around to see a kid that looked almost exactly like me, across the river, a few yards down. His head was down looking at his feet, but I could see his eyes were red rimmed and moist from crying when he looked up.

He stared at me, looking confused as I was. I noticed he had pale, milky white skin, very boyish futures, and big Amethyst eyes. He looked tired, and lonely, kind of how I felt. Suddenly he muttered something about going crazy already, getting to his feet and running off. I just sat there and blinked, watching his back as he ran.

"Damn," I said to myself, "I must still be tired..." I looked at my watch, it was almost time for Marik's class to get out, so I got up and started for his school, to go pick him up. When I got there he was already standing outside. As soon as his eyes found me, he started running toward me, his little arms outstretched to hug me. I winced in pain as his head collided with my chest, still bruised from the beating I got from my dad last night. Luckily he didn't notice.

"Temy! Whatcha doin here big brother?" He asked me softly.

A small smile spread across my lips, as he grabbed my hand."I just thought I'd spend time with my annoying little brother."

He giggled, and pulled me towards one of his friends. "Kura! Look, it's Temy! Member, I was tellin you about him?"

"Hi!" The little boy smiled and waved at me.

I looked up at the woman standing next to him,"Hey, I'm Atem, Marik's older brother." I introduced myself.

She looked at me skeptically."Shouldn't you be in school?"

Crap, I'd forgotten about that. "Uh… yeah…" I looked down my voice trailing off.

She laughed softly. "Relax, I'm only kidding, I won't tell if you don't." She smiled. "I remember being your age. Besides it's nice to know your not ditching to go out and party."

"Heh, yeah. Hey, would you mind giving him a ride home? My dad would freak if he found out I ditched." There was the understatement of the century.

"Oh of cores!" She looked at Marik, and then at her son, "You two ready to go?" Marik looked up at me in disappointment. "Your not commin?"

I looked down at him sadly."Nah, but I'll be home in a little while, I promise."

"Kay, love ya Temy! See ya at home!"

I waved goodbye as they climbed into the car and drove off. I had half an hour before I had to head home, so I decided to go to the arcade when something hit me.

"Shit!" How could I be so stupid?

**A/N: Soooo, what did you think? Please review :) Critiques are welcome! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclamer: I own nothing but the story line.**

**A/N: First of all, thanks for sticking with me through the first chapter :) This chapter skips around different people's pov a lot but it should be pretty easy to folllow :) Read and Review please! Critiques are welcome  
**

**Chapter Two**

**Mistakes**

**Yugi's pov.**

I stared in the mirror of the gas station bathroom, just looking at myself. Who was that guy? Was he real? I pictured him in my mind for the tenth time that day. He looked like a more masculine, Egyptian, version of me… with what looked like an almost neglected broken nose. 'Huh, _wonder how he got that?' _I thought about his eyes, deep crimson, and void of any emotions. I sighed and splashed water on my face, before walking out into the gas station. I checked my pockets, and found a couple dollars and some change in there. Picking out a random soda, I paid for it and let my feet take over again until it started getting dark. Finally I decided to head back home. Home… That wasn't the right word for it now, it was more like an empty house, full of memories that hurt to think about. I sighed.

'Well_, I can always do homework till I'm too tired to stay up…'_ I thought to myself until I noticed I didn't have my backpack. _'Darn it!' _I forgot to grab my stuff before I left school, so all of it was still in Mr. Freeman's class room. I sighed deeply, not wanting to think about the long night ahead of me, sitting alone in the big empty place. It was completely dark by the time I got to my destination. Walking through the door, not bothering to turn any lights on, I headed straight to my mom's room. All I could do when I turned the light on was sink to the floor, and let my tears fall rapidly, eventually falling asleep.

I woke up, feeling the sun's bright rays on my face. I didn't remember when I had finally fallen asleep, but I sincerely wished I had been able to make it to the bed. Trying to rub the stiffness from my neck, I got up, averting my eyes from the room, and went downstairs to make some breakfast… Make that lunch. My eyes practically bulged out of my head when I looked at the clock. It was already 1:00 in the afternoon! _'Well, so much for school.' _After I finished eating my bowl of Peanut Butter Crunch, I rinsed off my dishes, and left them in the sink. I had more important things to worry about than washing a couple dishes, like calling my mothers friends and family -No I don't consider any of them family, at least not _most _of them- to let them know what had happened, and setting a date with the funeral home. Boy I thought last night was long, hah, that was nothing compared to the upcoming day.

**Atem's pov**

_**(This starts last night, when Yugi was crying on his moms floor.)**_

I was lying on my bed, trying not to move a muscle. Every inch of my body ached, a new blanket of bruises and cuts covered my entire body, besides my face and forearms. I really wished I had remembered to tell Marik not to say anything about me visiting him at his school. I knew better than to make such an idiotic mistake! And now I was paying the price.

**BANG!**

I shot up out of my bed, wincing at the pain radiating through my body at every move I made. I listened carefully, recognizing the sound of my drunken father stumbling around as he tried to get into the house. Putting my pain in the back of my mind, I ran to Marik's room before our father had time to figure out what key went to the lock. Marik's face lit up as soon as he saw me. "Temy! Finally you're up, sleepy head!" He giggled to himself.

"Marik, listen to me, go into my room, lock the door and turn on my C.D. player, and swear to me you won't come out until I come get you!" He sighed.

"But I already did earlier! I don't wanna!"

"Marik I don't have time to argue with you, please just go."

"Fine."

"Thank you. I don't care what you do in there as long as you keep the music on and don't come out."

He nodded slowly, and left to my room. I heard the door shut behind him and the music blare just as the front door to the house slammed open and my father's voice called out to me.

"Boy! Get out hear, now before I drag your sorry ass out by your hair!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

I took a deep breath; readying myself for the beating I knew was coming, and quickly ran down the stairs. As soon as he saw me, the madness in his eyes glowed brighter than ever before, and I gulped.

"Ya know what boy…" His words stumbled out in a drunken slur. "I'm trd uh dealin with your shhhhit. I wnt you outa my house!"

My eyes went wide, thinking about what would happen to Marik if I left. No! I couldn't leave Marik with this him! I wouldn't do it! "Please sir!" I begged him, "Please let me stay! I'll do anything!"

A smirk formed on his lips. "Anything eh?"

I swallowed hard, but nodded my head.

"Fine, then call your brother out hear!"

My head snapped up to look him in the eye, petrified for my little brother, and shook my head no. I would do anything. _But that_.

He narrowed his eyes at me and said, "Either ya bring em out hear ta learn through example, or ya leave, nd he'll have ta learn the hard way!"

I lowered my gaze to the floor, bowing my head in resignation, as I walked slowly up the stairs to my room, and knocked on the door.

"Marik," I shouted through the door, "It's me, come out here." The music stopped, and I heard him walking to the door. As soon as it opened, I picked him up, and carried him downstairs, ignoring his questioning stare. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, so I kept my eyes on the ground until I reached the bottom step.

"Good, put him down and come here."

I did as I was told, head still bowed in utter defeat.

"What's goin on?" Marik asked, confusion clear in his small voice.

"I'm teachen you what happens when you disobey me." He replied, tearing off my t-shirt. I heard my little brother gasp in horror as he saw my chest and upper arms covered in cuts and bruises. "This is what happens when you pull stupid stunts, thinking I won't hear about it!" He suddenly sounded vary much sober.

Marik was crying as he looked at me."Are you okay Temy?"

I looked up at him, smiling sadly at the poor boy. This was my fault, he shouldn't have had to see this! The least I could do was make him feel a little better. "Of cores I am shorty. I'm fine, I promise." It was a broken promise before it even hit my lips. I was far from okay, but I couldn't let him think to much about me being hurt.

"If you feel fine, I guess I'm not doin my job right!" My father said with a sneer, backhanding me. I let out a surprised yelp, and heard my brother scream. I looked at him, and saw tears streaming from his eyes.

"Marik, don't move!" I pleaded with my little brother. He just nodded, curling up to the railing.

My father rounded on me again, hitting me wherever, and however, he could, avoiding my face as much as possible. He slipped up once, hitting my eye, and it felt like he would never stop. Within fifteen minutes however, he slumped over, and with a loud thud, fell to the floor.

Thanking the gods, I got up, and walked over to Marik who was cowering on the stairs. "Marik," I began softly, "You can look now, it's over." Slowly, he lifted his head to look at me. I bent down to pick him up, and he hugged me tightly, as if intending to never let go. I grimaced in pain, but kept silent as I carried him up the stairs to his room. When I tried to put him down on his bed, his grip just tightened around my neck.

"Don't leave! Please, please, please don't leave me big brother! I'm scared!" He cried, burying his head in my chest. I stifled a sob as tears escaped my eyes, and I hid my face in his hair.

"Shhh, it's okay, I'm not going anywhere." I lay down in his bed, pulling him closer to me, and rapping my arms around him, to let him know he was safe. I let him keep his face buried in my chest, still crying, as I stroked his hair, trying to get him to fall asleep. I sighed in relief about half an hour later, when I heard soft snoring coming from the exhausted boy. Our father had finally taken it a step to far. I'd be damned if he thought he could take Marik's childhood away from him, like he did to me! I had to find a way to get him away from my fatehr. If I couldn't save us both, I swore to the gods I'd at least get my brother away from this! And when I did, I could finally let go. The only thing I had to live for was my brother, and when he was gone, safe and happy, I wouldn't have anything left to hold on to. Most people were scared of death, but it would be more of a relief to me. I couldn't even get away from my father's torture in my dreams, constantly reliving the more horrifying things he put me through. I wasn't sure when, but sometime in the night, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

I woke up with my arms still wrapped tightly around my brother's small form, and looked around to find a clock. It was 7:32 a.m. Not much time to get ready for school, but it would have to do. When I tried to pull my arms out from around Marik, he immediately woke up panicking. "It's alright," I soothed him, "I'm not gonna leave you, but we need to get up, so we can get ready and go to school."

He looked up at me through glassy eyes, not fully awake yet. I unwrapped my arms from around him, and stood up.

"I'll be right back okay? I just need to go get dressed. You should do the same. I won't take longer than five minutes."

He looked scared, but nodded in agreement before I left the room. I decided to take a detour to make sure our dad was still passed out from last night. Sighing in relief, as I saw his form still lying there in the same position he was in last night, I ran back up the stairs and got dressed as quickly as I could, then ran back to Marik's room and knocked on the door. "You almost done?" I called out to him, mainly so he would know it was me.

"Yeah, you can come in Temy!" He called back and I walked back into his room.

"Alright, I can take you to school, but you get out before I do, so I want you to go over to your friend's house."

He looked up at me in shock. "What about dad? He'll be so mad!" He cried.

"Dad doesn't matter; I'll deal with him when the time comes."

"No! He'll hurt you again!" He yelled at me. I sighed and knelt down in front of him so we were at eye level.

"Don't worry about me; I'll be fine as long as I know you're safe."

"But-"

"No, I don't want to hear it Marik." I cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "I promise I'll be okay. Just please, don't come home."

He looked down at his feet. "Okay Temy, but ya gotta swear you'll be okay."

I smiled and hugged him close to me."I swear." I lied, and stood up saying, "Alright, let's go."

We got to his school just as his friend's mom pulled up. I looked down at Marik, "I'll see you later." I hugged him and let him go inside. Sighing to myself I walked over to the woman who was hugging her son and asked. "Hey, can I talk to you? It's sort of important..."

She looked up at me and gasped, probably seeing my black eye I'd forgotten about."Of cores! I'll see you after school hunny." She waved to the kid as he walked off, and looked back at me. "What happened to you?" Her voice was full of concern, but I ignored it.

"I was just hoping it'd be alright if Marik stayed over at your house for a while. I packed some extra cloths and a toothbrush for him." I said holding up the plastic wal-mart bag I had in my hand.

"Of cores." She repeated. "Is everything alright? How'd you get that?" She asked, holding her hand up, about to touch my eye, but I looked away.

"I got in a fight." I said curtly, then dropping the subject, added, "My dad's gonna be away for a couple weeks."

"Ahh, I see." She seeming to buy my story without a problem. "You've got other plans ay?" She winked.

I laughed, "Sorta."

"Need a ride to school? Or are you playing hooky again?" She laughed, as she looked at her watch.

"I probably shouldn't miss any more."

"Great, get in."

I walked around to the passenger side, thankful I didn't have to walk. My body was still in pain, and my school was ten blocks away.

I was sitting at an abandoned table, staring at my lunch -a burrito, some badly made corn, and a side of jell-o- when I heard someone walking towards me, and snapped my head up to glare at whoever it was. Standing before me was a girl I didn't recognize. She looked like a freshman… or freshgirl, wearing strange additions to her uniform. There were buttons with funny comments on them, pinned all around her skirt; she had on what looked like 80's styled half arm warmers with multi colored checkers; a small chain around her neck, holding a ring; and thigh high socks striped black and green. And surprisingly enough, she had the same dark tan I did. "Hi." She said, sounding a little nervous. Good, she should be.

"You looked lonely over here, so I came to give you company."

I just sat there glaring at her.

"Well? What do ya say?" She persisted.

My stare turned into a glare, and I stood up.

"No thanks." I told her, ice in my voice, and walked away, leaving the girl standing there, dumfounded.

**Girls POV**

I stood there for a moment, speechless. He looked so… Angry! I was just trying to be nice, but he acted like I was sitting there pinching him or something.

My new friend, Lexi, walked over to me, and put a hand on my shoulder. "That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen anyone do!"

"What was?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "That was Atem Crossly! He's a freak! I even heard this rumor about him, that he tears off the heads of little baby animals just for fun!"

How shallow could she be?

"That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. What's your problem?"

She rolled her eyes. "My dear Mana, you just haven't been here long enough to understand it yet, but trust me, you'll see what I mean, just like everyone else."

Was this whole school filled with morons? "I highly doubt that." I said dryly.

"Well, whatever. We should go, Terry's waiting for us."

"Yeah… I'll catch up with you guys later." She nodded, and I left to go look for that guy again. I practically had to search the entire school grounds before I finally found him.

**Atem's POV**

I was leaning against a fence, watching cars fly by. This day was going by to fast. I really didn't want to go home and deal with my father. I could already feel the new bruises I'd have, probably even a new cut or two. I hated when he cut me, I'd have to lie there without moving while the knife sliced through my skin slowly. He loved to drag it on. He liked to cut my arms up, so it'd look like I was cutting myself. Last year one the teachers saw them, and ended up sending me to the school counselor. They eventually gave up on me about a month into it, because I'd just sit there like a statue, glaring at the counselor, until she let me leave.

Once I heard her call me a lost cause. Stupid woman, she didn't even know the half of it. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I hadn't realized someone was behind me. I jerked away, backing up against the fence. _'Shit!' _I was cornered, and panicking. Finally I realized who it was, and glared at her.

"Are you okay?" She looked at me with pity in her eyes.

Now I was pissed. "What. Do. You. Want." I asked through gritted teeth.

She looked taken aback. "I… Uh… Just thought…" She looked down.

"Yeah, well whatever you thought, your wrong. Now take a damn hint and leave me alone!" And for the second time that day, I stormed off, away from the stubborn girl.

**Yugi's POV**

"I'm so sorry kid."

"Yeah, I know." I fought back a couple tears.

"You want me to come over and help you out? You shouldn't be alone right now."

"Um… Yeah I guess… Thanks Pat."

"Hey no problem kid, I told ya before, I'd look out for ya."

"Yeah, I remember. Hey, could you call everyone else for me? I don't think I can handle it, and plus I still have a few errands to run, and this is gonna take all day."

"Of cores! I'll be over in a bit."

"Alright, just let yourself in, I'll leave a list of people to call on the counter for you."

"Kay. Bye kid."

"Bye Pat." I hung up the phone, left my list on the counter for Pat, and went to get changed into some clean cloths before I left to the new high school I decided to enroll in. It didn't take long to get there. I walked into the office, and saw that guy from the other day, sitting on a bench glaring at the ground. He had a black eye to go with his broken nose now. It made me wonder if someone was hurting him, while I was waiting for the receptionist to get off the phone. I sat next to him on the bench and stared at him. After a minute he looked up at me, recognition and surprise flashed across his face for a second, but was quickly replaced by an empty stare.

I noticed he wore a long sleeved black t-shirt, with one sleeve rolled up to his bicep. There were ugly raged scares running all the way up it. Was he doing all of this to himself then? He noticed what I was staring at, and hastily pulled down his sleeve, looking away when a man stumbled in. He was tall and pretty buff, and he smelt like whisky. I looked at the guy sitting next to me. His whole body had tensed up.

"Get up boy!"

He did as he was told, watching the ground the whole time, and mumbled something to the man.

"What's that boy?"

"I need to sign out." He said barley audible.

"Well then? Hurry up. I'll be in the car." He walked out, mumbling something under his breath.

"Have a nice day Atem." The woman at the desk smiled at him.

_'So that's his name_.' I thought, as he signed the paper.

He sighed heavily before he slowly walked out, like he was walking down death row.

The lady turned to me. "Can I help you with something young man?" She asked with a little too much sugar in her voice.

"Um, yeah. I wanted to enroll here, but I'm not exactly sure how to do it." I replied still a little confused about what had just happened.

She looked at me confused. "Shouldn't your parents be doing this?"

I sighed. "No, I'm on my own."

"Oh, well okay then, stay right there, I'll go get you the papers."

I nodded, and sat back down.

It took her about five minutes to find the papers. "Okay, all you have to do is sign these papers for now. Have you already signed out of your other school?"

"Uhh, no… Was I supposed to?"

She smiled gently at me and nodded.

"Yes, but I'll let it slide, just remember to sign out tomorrow 'kay?"

I nodded solemnly, glad this lady was nice, unlike the school secretary at my old school. She was a total hag.

**Atem's POV**

"Where is he boy?" He shouted, throwing me on the ground.

"I don't know what your talking about!" I spat. Like I'd really tell him! I'd kill myself first.

"We'll see about that." He grabbed me by the hair, and dragged me towards his room, throwing me on the floor again. "Move and I'll break your legs boy." He walked out, as I laid there, choking back tears, and waiting for whatever he was planning.

I heard rustling coming from the bathroom, and the sound of mettle clinking together. I was frozen on the spot, finally understanding what was coming, and I suddenly wished I could sink into the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line :)**

**Chapter Three**

**Waking up.**

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

I listened intently to the slow, steady pace of the machine's beeping, head still full of fog. My nose started itching, but when I tried to lift my arm, I felt a sharp pain, and something holding it down tightly. My eyes snapped open, looking around the room. I was in a hospital, hooked up to a bunch of machines, one being a blood I.V. and my hands were bound by restraints. I tried to wrap my head around what was going on, but I couldn't remember what had happened. Suddenly I heard a small feminine voice talking to another person I couldn't make out.

"He should be waking up any minute now, but you should go get something to eat in the cafeteria, It could be a good minute, he lost a lot of blood." Huh, probably a nurse or something.

"Thank you miss. I won't be long, could you call me if he wakes up before I come back?"

That voice… I knew it from somewhere. I just couldn't make it out. It was rough, and deep, and had a touch of menace in it, that I'm sure no one else would notice.

"Not a problem, I'll stick by him until you come back."

"Thank you so much. I'm still having trouble believing it got this bad," Said the man's voice, which I still couldn't place.

What did he mean, by that? What had happened? Why was I here? I heard a small sigh from the girl.

"It's always so sad to see such a young person going through something so horrible, but you should really go get yourself something to eat. We wouldn't want you sitting next to him in a hospital bed as well now would we?"

The man chuckled, and I heard heavy footsteps slowly fade away.

The nurse walked in, and I stared at her confused, though she didn't seem to notice I was awake yet.

"Excuse me." I barely recognized my own voice. It was raspy, and barely audible.

She looked at me, surprise clear on her face, "Oh! You're up! Good, how're ya feelin hun?"

"Um, to be honest, crappy… But why am I here?" I struggled against the straps a little, shooting a sharp pain through both my arms. "And what's with the restraints?"

She looked at me, like she wanted to cry. "You don't remember do you?"

I thought for a moment, coming up empty. "Umm, no… The last thing I remember is…" I thought hard again, still coming up with nothing. I couldn't remember anything past sitting in the office, that kid sitting next to me, looking at my… My eyes widened. "School." I finished quickly. My memory was clearing up. I could remember every detail of what had happened, and how I ended up here. I looked down at my arms, wincing slightly at the thought of what they probably looked like now.

I looked back up at her in time to see her give me a sympathetic look, before she began checking all the machines, writing something down on her clipboard every now and then. I lay back down on my pillow, everything starting to make sense. I was relieved it was over. Someone must have seen what he was doing to me, but who? Why would someone be in his room? Huh, maybe it was Marik's friend's mom; I guess I must have forgotten to pack something for Marik. Maybe she came in, thinking I was with some girl, and opened the wrong door… But… My dad wouldn't have let her get away easily…

I shook my head, shaking away all thoughts of the confusing subject, just glad it was finally over. I looked back up at the nurse, as she spoke.

"Are you still in pain?"

Now that I thought about it, my entire body was aching horribly. I grimaced. "Yeah actually, a lot."

She nodded, picking up a button connected to a machine that was in turn connected to me by a second I.V. "All you need to do is press this button and the Morphine will start working, it'll work every ten minutes." I nodded as she put the button in my hand, pressing it quickly**. **It started to take effect almost immediately, my whole body felt tingly, my head swimming. It made me laugh. I felt good. Better than I had in seven years. I couldn't feel the random pains in my body, my dad was gone, Marik was safe, my dad was gone, I was safe. My dad was gone! So why was there a nagging feeling in the back of my mind? It felt like I was over looking something…

"_I'm gonna find you Atem." _

_I hid deeper in my clothes hamper, hearing the voice get closer. _

_"You can run, but you can't HIDE!" The last part was shouted, as I felt arms wrap around me, throwing me into the air, and swinging me around, making me giggle. _

"_Awww, you win mommy!" I heard her soft laugh, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. I looked down at her, still being held in the air. She was an angel, with long, silky, black hair surrounding her heart shaped face, going all the way down to her mid back. She had a slim hourglass figure, and tanned, Egyptian skin. Putting me down, she sighed happily. _

"_Okay, my love, go get your father, tell him that if he doesn't hurry his but up, he's gonna make us late!"_

_Running to the room my dad was in, I jumped up on the bed._

"_Daddy! Mommy said to hurry your butt up or we're gonna be late!" I heard him chuckle, and once again, I was being held high in the air. I squealed, and giggled, and watched as my mother walked in the room, smiling._

_Suddenly her stomach started growing, and her once beautiful face started looking sucked up, and brittle, her smile turning into a grimace. She started to fade away, until she was completely gone, a baby left in her place, crying and alone. Tears were falling down my small face, and I looked back at my father, panicking. His eyes, that held so much love and happiness just a minute ago, now looked cold and bitter, as he threw me to the ground, kicking me in the gut._

_I scrambled away from him, and crawled to the crying infant on the ground. "Shhh," I soothed, taking him in my arms. "It's okay, I'll protect you. Forever," I promised him. Holding him close to me, I shot up and out the door, just as my once loving father advanced on me. I managed to slip away from him, bolting out the front door of our house. He was still right behind me, so I called out for help, but no one seemed to care. They just went about there lives, pretending not to see me. I kept running, as fast as my legs would let me. I had to get away, I knew if he caught me, he'd hurt me, and my little brother. I couldn't let that happen! I wasn't paying attention to were we were going, I just let my feet carry me as fast as they could, down alleyways, through stores, across streets, screaming for help the entire time, but no one seemed to notice me, or my father running just a few feet behind me. Suddenly my legs froze; I looked around panicking, just to find everything, including my father, was frozen in time._

_Something caught my eye, and I stared at the figure before me. It didn't make any since… What was he doing here? Why couldn't I move? My eyes widened as he came closer. White wings surrounded him, spouting out from his back. He was an angel. But… Why was he crying? Angels didn't cry… Did they? I stared in wonder at the small droplets that stained his cheeks. "Why are you crying?" I asked him, forgetting about the fact that everything was frozen, including me. _

_The angel just smiled at me sadly._ "_These tears I shed, they are the tears you refuse my friend." _

_"Your crying because of me?" I asked him in horror. _

_His smile faded for a moment, and was replaced by a sympathetic yet humored smile, and he shook his head slowly. "No, young Atem, not _because_ of you, _for _you. Your so busy staying strong for your little brother, and pretending to be happy for the rest of the world, you forget to let out what you feel. So _I_ let it out for of you." _

_I was completely confused. He wasn't making any since! So I just stared blankly at him, and blinked, making him sigh. "But I don't understand… Why you? I don't even know you... I never even saw you until a couple days ago..." _

_The angel chuckled softly._ _"Some things are just a bit to hard to explain my friend. You'll understand in time, but for now, you should get back. Someone's waiting for you, and you just might be surprised at who it is." And with that he started fading away._

_"Wait!" I called to the translucent angel. "I don't even know your name!" I finished my sentence just as his outline completely vanished, everything, including the baby in my arms, faded with him, until all there was left was black and I was alone. Again. _

"...Like I should be here... I know it's weird but..." I heard a sigh.

Who ever it was in my room, I didn't recognize their voice, but I didn't want them to stop talking, I liked the sound of their voice. I opened my eyes to see who it was, and froze at the sight. It was him. That kid. The one who looked like me. My dream angel. He just kept popping up everywhere...

"Oh! You're up! Goo- err... heh... I guess your probably wondering why I'm here." He looked at his feet, like he was confessing to taking the last cookie in the cookie jar, making me smile. He looked adorable.

"Well, yeah... kinda." I began, confused. "But it's nice to have a visitor." I finished, not wanting to make him think I didn't want him there. Because for some reason... I did. I couldn't bring myself to treat him like I would normally treat others. But I didn't need to anyway. My dad was gone, so I didn't have to worry.

He looked up at me and smiled slightly, it was a shy smile, "I'm not really sure honestly. I heard you were here, and... well, I just felt like I should come by, just to make sure you were okay..." He mumbled, more to himself than to me.

I chuckled softly, my eyes widening at the sound of it. "Hey, that's cool with me. I like having someone to check on me for once." I told him, making him give me a weird look, his head tilting to one side and brow furrowing.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing," I tried to rub the headache away that was forming in the back of my mind, just to be rudely reminded of why I was there in the first place, by the pain shooting up through my arms, and the straps that bound me to the bed, making me glare at the restraints. I looked up at him, confused.

"You wouldn't happen to know why the _hell_ I'm strapped down like a dog would you?" Fear slowly seeped into my voice. The fear of knowing I had no way of protecting myself getting to me quickly, as I started to struggle against the restraints ignoring the growing pain in my forearms. The room started spinning, and all I could see was my dad standing at the end of my bed, laughing manically. "Please. Please let me go!" I whimpered, barely noticing a damp warming feeling slowly surrounding my forearms, as I continued to struggle against the straps holding my arms in place. Suddenly there was a calming voice floating around, mumbling things I couldn't understand. The sound was so soft, and full of concern, the need to know who it was coming from almost over came the need to get away. Almost. All I could do was kick and scream as I felt five pairs of hands wrap around me. One pair of hands for each of my flailing limbs, and one pressing my chest down against the bed.

My voice gave out on me, refusing to withstand the harshness of my screaming any longer, so I settled for freeing one of my legs and kicking around aimlessly, until I felt my foot connect with something, and heard a strangled cry of pain. _Atem: one, Creepy people holding me down: zero_. I thought victoriously, although it didn't last long when I noticed just who the cry had come from. I stopped struggling long enough to hear soft sobs coming from the foot of my bed, and I opened my eyes, I hadn't noticed were closed. My eyes widened in horror as I saw my dream angel looking at me with wide, horrified eyes, blood rushing out of his nose. I looked around franticly for some sign to tell me this was just a nightmare, until my eyes landed on a face I hadn't expected to see. No! I thought he was gone! Why was he here! I knew it was too good to be true, I'd never escape him. I looked back at my dream angel, eyes full of sorrow and regret. He was probably horrified of me. Of cores he was. I'd just hit him. I couldn't look at him anymore. What I did was too horrible, so I looked back at my father. No one seemed to notice the sheer amusement in his eyes. _Am I ever going to be free of this man? _Was my last thought before unconsciousness found me once again.

**Yugi's pov.**

I let a doctor tend to my nose, as I looked at Atem's sleeping figure. I couldn't believe how bad the restraints freaked him out. I felt so bad for him. The look on his face before he fell asleep held pure agony, even now, sleeping, he didn't look peaceful like most people. He looked troubled, and worn out. When he had woken up he seemed so… not so much happy, but more… Relieved I guess. Like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Until he noticed the restraints. I thought back, remembering the utter horror in his eyes as he looked up to me, pleading for me to free him. My heart twitched at the thought. Ever since the day I saw him on the street, scarlet eyes holding about as much life as a door, I couldn't stop thinking about him, and now… I was starting to care for him.

His dad had left shortly after he fell unconscious do to the blood loss from ripping his stitches on his arms, claiming he had important business to take care of. I could have sworn I heard him chuckle as he walked past me, but I just blew it off as me imagining things… for the most part. I didn't like the man, something about him seemed off. At that moment, I made a silent promise to both Atem, and myself, I'd find out what was going on with him, and I'd help him through it. Somehow. I thanked the doctor when he was done caring for my nose, and just sat there, lost in my thoughts for hours. I was so deep in thought I hadn't notice the sun set, and eventually rise. I thanked every god and goddess who could hear me that it was Saturday, and stood up, to get some food from the cafeteria, rushing back as soon as I had two trays of food, one for me, and one for him. Just in case. As I walked through the halls of the hospital, memories of visiting my mom here flashed through my mind like a bad movie.

I started walking faster, wanting to get away from the plague of my memories. Finally getting to his room, I slammed the door behind me, set the trays of food down, slumped in the chair next to Atem's bed, and hid my face in my hands, completely missing the fact said person was sitting up, watching me. I hadn't noticed I was crying until I felt the droplets seeping down my hands.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear." Came a rasp sounding voice, full of sorrow.

I jumped at the sound, and looked up to Atem's fragile looking form. He looked horrified. But it seemed like it was pointed more towards himself, than anything.

"Wha… Oh." I laughed. "Hey, its cool, I've had worse. Luckily for me you didn't get a good enough shot at me to break it." I told him, pointing at my nose. He tilted his head at me, face full of confusion.

"Wait… Your not… Mad? Or…" He looked down, seeming lost in his thoughts.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Just for a bloody nose? Why would I be mad at you for that? I'm more worried about you than anything Atem."

His head shot up at the mention of his name. "How… How do you know my name?" He asked.

"Oh, heh, I heard the school receptionist say it when I saw you in the office"

"Oh…" Was all he said, letting his thoughts swallow him again.

We just sat there in a comfortable silence for about five minutes before he looked back up at me. "Hey…"

"Hmm?" Was all I said, still staring at the floor pattern.

"Why were you crying when you came in?"

This got me to look up at him. I'd forgotten he saw me crying when I came back with the food… This also reminded me that I was hungry, and the food was right next to me. "Oh, heh, well…" I looked back down, I couldn't bring myself to talk about it yet.

"You don't have to tell me. I was just curious."

I smiled at him." Thanks. It's still kind of a sore subject for me."

He nodded, waving it off." I understand. But in return for my understanding you have to do something for me." A grin slowly spread across his features, making me eye his suspiciously.

"Uh, okay… What is it?" I asked, worried about what was going through his mind.

"Hand me one of those trays of food over there. Seeing as how I can't exactly get up for myself." The last sentence held nothing but bitterness, but his tone lightened again as he added, "And you'll either have to feed me or free me, though I prefer the ladder…"

I laughed and nodded in response, getting the trays, and setting one down on his chest, laughing again when he looked at it, cross eyed.

"Well… this wont work, I'll go crazy. Er, crazier then I already am, I suppose." He laughed at his own twisted joke, making me wonder just how much I didn't know about this guy.

"Hmm… I'm still weighing the options I have." I tapped my chin with my finger, pretending to think.

His face lit up with mock horror, and slowly turned to a smirk. "Liking the thought of feeding me eh? Should I be worried… Uh, I still don't know your name…" He joked, making me laugh.

"Alright, alright, you win. I'll free you, and my name's Yugi." I said, as I loosened one of the straps.

He didn't waist any time, as soon as the strap was loose enough for him to wiggle his arm out of it, he reached over to get the other one, barely effected by the tray falling off his chest and clattering around on the floor.

I winced at the loud noise, remembering I hadn't slept yet. I raised my eye brows at him. "A little anxious huh?" I asked.

He just gave me a serious look, I couldn't quite decipher. "Yeah, well you try being strapped down after…." His eyes widened and he looked away, seeming to be okay with letting the sentence trail off.

I, however, was not. "After what?" I urged him.

"Remember that thing you didn't want to talk about?" He asked me in a flat tone, gazing out the window, refusing to look at me.

"Yeah…"

"Well, lets just say your not the only one still sore from certain subjects."

An understanding silence fell over us. We sat like that until the door to the room opened. I looked up, and saw Atem's father walking into the room. His gaze went from Atem, to the mess on the floor, and finally settled on me, eyes narrowed into tiny slits. I looked over at Atem. He was tense, and I could see fear hidden behind his suddenly expressionless mask as he looked at his father.

"Yugi, you should go." I winced at the ice laced in his voice.

"Are you-"

"Yes, go." He cut me off.

I nodded; confused at his sudden bitterness, and left, only looking back once I was outside on the sidewalk. I didn't understand what had happened. One second he was joking around, and the next… All I knew was that it had to have had something to do with his father. I sighed, not really wanting to go back home. Unfortunately I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I took my Mp3 out of my pocket to listen to it, and let my feet carry me home slowly. I froze when I saw my house in the distance. There was a cop car in the driveway, next to Pat's car. When I shook myself out of my thoughts, I ran as fast as I could towards my house, slamming the door open, not bothering to shut it.

Pat was sitting on a chair across from two men in police uniforms, sitting on the couch. They turned to look at me when I walked in.

"What's going on?" I asked Pat. He just looked down, in regret, so I directed my question towards the two on the couch, narrowing my eyes at them.

The one on the left answered me. He was tall and lanky, compared to his partner who was short and kind of chunky, but obviously muscle built. "Are you Yugi Mouto?"

I nodded my head.

"I understand you just lost your mother."

"Yeah, whats that got to do with anything?" I was pissed. What right did he have to bring that up? What the hell was his problem?

"Where've you been the past two days?" He questioned.

What the hell? "I was at the hospital visiting a friend." I spat coldly. "Whats any of this got to do with you?"

The chunky man spoke up this time, unfazed by my attitude. "Your father's looking for you."

My eyes widened, full of hate and disgust. "What the hell does he want?"

"You're going to be moving with him." The man told me, no emotion to his voice.

"Like hell I am! What? He suddenly cares about me now that my mom's dead? HA! I doubt it. I'd rather go to a damned foster home than live with him!" I ranted.

All three men just looked at me in utter shock.

"Yugi…" Pat started, still in shock. I wasn't the type of person to get angry easily. I just glared at him. "I know you don't care for him, but he's your father."

"Yeah, some father. I haven't even seen him since I was a baby! I don't even remember him at all!"

"I know, but he's going to try now. I'm not telling you to forgive him, I'm just telling you to give him a chance."

"Why the hell should I do that? He didn't give me much of a chance. Hell he didn't even care."

"I know its not fare, but there _is _an upside to going to live with your father." He smiled.

"Yeah? And what in the hell could that be?"

"You have an older brother."

My eyes widened. "Wait… Older? How…"

"He had a kid with another woman about a year before he met your mom. That's who he left you two for."

"And what, exactly, makes you think I'd want to meet him?"

"Oh come on, he never did anything to you!"

I sighed, knowing Pat was right. "Fine, who is he?" I asked

"His name's Joseph Wheeler." I raised an eyebrow at the cop who spoke up.

"Wheeler? My dad's last name isn't Wheeler…"

"He has his mom's last name." Pat was speaking again.

"Oh…" Was all I said.

The two cops stood up, and the taller one spoke. "Go get a change of cloths and a toothbrush. We'll bring you back tomorrow to start packing."

I only nodded, and went to get my stuff.

**A/N: Review please! Critiques welcome! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line :)**

**A/N: Read and Review please! Critiques welcome! :) Chapter five & six will be up in a day or two at the latest, but the rest will take a while, because I've only written a little more than half of chapter seven. **

**Chapter four**

**Its Just so New**

**Joey's pov.**

"Ah man, it's taken forever! How much longer do you think they'll be?" Tristan asked me, voicing my thoughts.

"I don't know man, but this is ridiculous! Hey…" I looked around. "Where'd Tea go?" She was right next to us a second ago…"

Tristan looked away from the window, looking for Tea. "Huh… I don't know… TEA!" He called, walking towards the living room.

I turned around, and sat back on my bed. I didn't even know I had a little brother until three days ago, when my parents sat me down, and told me. Oh man was I pissed. They had seventeen years to tell me, and they wait till the kid's mom dies, and he has to come live with us. Poor guy… I couldn't imagine loosing my mom. And I couldn't believe my dad! I thought he was a good guy! How could he have just up and left his family like that? Sure, I was glad he was here, with my mom and I, but did he really have to completely abandon them? What the hell? My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway. I whipped back to look out side my window. _'Finally_!' I thought, running out to the living room.

"Hey! There here! Come on guys!" I yelled, running out the door, to meet my little brother. I laughed silently to myself at the thought. I had a little bro… how cool. As soon as he got out of the car I instantly wrapped my arms around him in a huge hug. "What's up my brotha?" I asked in a mock gangster tone. I looked down at the kid, taking in the sight of him. He had spiky hare, colored three different shades, black, with red tips, and blond bangs. He was wearing a black tank top, leather pants, and studded boots, with a couple weird bracelets, and a choker to top it all off. And man was he short! I bent down, staring at him, and poked his forehead. "Hey… I knew I was getting a little brother, but I didn't expect you to actually be _little._" I laughed as he glared at me. I heard Tea giggle at the door way to the house.

"Hey! I'm not _that _little!" He defended himself, still glaring. It didn't look right. I couldn't take him seriously like that. He was about as cute as a baby kitten… Clad in punk wear… Ha. Funny.

"Don't mind Joey, that's just his sense of humor. You should see him and Tristan go at it sometimes." Tea told him, smiling warmly, kind of like a mother.

I rolled my eyes at her, and draped an arm around Yugi's shoulders, steering him inside. Tea took his bag from one the cops, and they drove off.

"Welcome to our humble… whats that word again?" I asked, trying to think of what I was looking for.

"Abode?" He added helpfully.

"Ah! that's it! Man, it's already useful to have ya around Yug."

He looked up at me in shock at the nickname.

"What?"

He just shook his head. "Nothing I guess. It's just, no one's ever called me that before…"

"Good, cuz that means I made it up before anyone else could." I rambled happily. "So, ya wanna see your room or what?"

"Um, sure, I guess…" He seemed hesitant, but I ignored it, and took him to the room right across the hall from mine, that used to be the guest room. It was pretty plain, all it had was a normal sized bed clad with white sheets and comforters, a bedside table, and a desk in the corner near the closet.

"Well… its kinda borin now, but I'm sure when you get all your stuff, it'll be a lot more… interesting I guess."

He just laughed.

Tea set his bag on the bed, and rolled her eyes. "Where'd Tristan run off to?" She asked, annoyed.

"I dunno, he went looking for you. Where'd _you _run off to?" I asked her, laughing when she glared at me. I turned back to Yugi. "So, Yug, what school do ya go to?"

"Domino high."

"Huh, I've never seen you there before." His eyes seemed to light up at this.

"I just transferred there."

"Oh, that makes sense then."

"Hey do you know Atem?"

I knew he looked familiar! He looked almost exactly like Atem Crossley! Suddenly my eyes widened. "Uh, I guess you could say that… Why is that ass hole given you trouble? I swear I'll beat his ass! I've been looken for an excuse to do that since the day we met!"

Yugi looked shocked, and glared at me again. "What? No! Why would you think that? There's nothing wrong with him! He's a nice guy!"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I've heard Atem Crossley called a lot of things, but this is the first time I've ever heard someone call him nice."

Yugi's face clouded with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"He's an ass to everybody who comes within a five foot radius of him."

He looked down. "He's nice to me. He really is a cool guy, if you give him a chance."

I stared at him in utter shock. "Why the hell should I do that? He's a total ass hole Yug."

This made him narrow his eyes at me, his confusion turning into anger. "Yeah? Well I have to give my so called 'father' another chance, after he up and abandoned me and my mom! Why the hell should _I _have to do _that_!"

I looked down, feeling like an ass. "Sorry man, your right. I didn't think of that."

His face softened and he smiled sadly. "It's alright. But I really do think you should give him a chance. Maybe you could come with me to visit him at the hospital tomorrow."

"He's in the hospital?"

His smile faded, and the youth looked down sadly. "Yeah," He whispered, voice barely audible.

"What happened?"

"The nurse said he tried to kill himself, but I don't believe it."

I thought for a moment. "Hmm, me either. He never really seemed like the type to try and off himself."

He looked back up at me. "So… Will you go with me tomorrow? It's Sunday, so we don't have school."

He looked so hopeful, I couldn't just tell him no. "I guess…"

A smile retook his face once again as he said, "Thanks!" Then, turning to Tea, he added, "What about you? Do you want to come? I'm sure he'll like the company!"

She smiled, and nodded. "Sure, that'd be cool."

I looked at him, and for the first time noticed how worn out he looked. "Hey, Yug, you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired. I didn't sleep last night."

"You want us to leave you alone so you can sleep?" Tea asked him softly.

He shook his head madly, eyes wide with horror. "Please don't! I… don't really want to be alone…" The kid looked down like he was ashamed of what he was confessing.

"Hey, it's okay Yugi, there's nothing wrong with that. We get it, you've felt alone since your mom passed away, and now you're in some strange house, expected to feel right at home." Tea spoke to him like the therapist she was training to be.

All I could do was look at her in amazement. She had always had a way of knowing just how people felt, even before the psychology classes.

"But we don't expect you to feel comfortable right away; we just hope you'll eventually be able to make this your home. And until then, we'll do whatever we can to help you out with the transition." She finished, putting an arm around him, and holding him close. He just sat there for a moment, but finally leaned into Tea, and hugged her back, letting tears roll down his face silently, but freely. They just sat there, like that, until Yugi started to fall asleep in Tea's arms. She slowly lowered him onto the bed, and covered him with a thin blanket.

He grabbed her hand, and held it tightly, scared she would leave.

She just sat there next to him, her free hand stroking his face gently, until he was finally asleep. Tea finally freed her hand, and sat up slowly, motioning for me to follow her to the living room.

I shut the door behind me on my way out, and slumped on a couch when we reached the living room.

I noticed the concern showing clear on her face, "Hey, he'll be alright. Eventually. We just gotta give 'em time is all." I told her, soothingly.

She shook her head. "That's not what I'm worried about Joey."

"Then what is it? If it's Tristan, you know him; he'll show up in about an hour."

She shook her head again. "No, that's not it… It's…" She sighed. "Did you see his face when you mentioned hurting Atem?"

I blinked, thinking back, and shook my head. "No, I was too pissed. I didn't notice anything."

She sighed again. "Have you ever wondered _why _Atem treats other people the way he does?"

I shook my head. "No, not really."

This made her roll her eyes for the umpteenth time this day. "Okay… have you ever noticed that all he does is give people dirty looks, occasionally telling them to leave him alone, but never raises his voice, or a hand to anyone?"

I looked at Tea like she was crazy. "Do I look like I've been watchin him close enough to notice any of these things?" I asked, annoyed, which made her sigh in frustration.

"It's really not that hard to see Joey! If you actually paid attention every once in a while! And he's constantly flinching, or getting tense whenever someone gets to close! How can you not see it?"

"Not everyone has your amazing ability to see people like you do Tea." I told her calmly.

She just smiled softly at me. "I know I'm sorry. It's just… The fear in Yugi's eyes when you mentioned beating Atem up… You should have seen it. It was almost like he'd seen Atem get hurt before… And I've had suspicions about it all year. I think Atem's being hurt. His attitude suggests it, and the fact that he's okay with Yugi. It's common for kids, who get beat, to try and protect other's they see as to weak to defend themselves. Just look at Yugi, he practically screams 'Hey, I'm a target!' to the world. Especially after loosing his mother. It'd only be natural for Atem to place him under his wing. And don't forget, he tried to kill himself. All the signs add up." She drew in a long breath at the end, and I just looked at her.

"So… What'r we gonna do?" I asked, suddenly feeling horrible for the guy.

"Honestly all we can do, is hope he lets us in, sense we're with Yugi, so we can try to convince him to tell someone."

I nodded. "What about Yugi? Should we tell him?"

"No, I'm sure he already sees it, and I don't think he needs any more stress put on him than he already has."

I just nodded in agreement.

**Atem's pov.**

I sighed, looking down at the straps around my arms. I finally got to see what they looked like. There were a few new ones across the back of my forearm, but the ones that sent me to the hospital were the two that started at the top, back of my wrists, and slowly slid down, curving around to the inside of my elbows. One for each arm. They both had way too many stitches to count. '_hurray for me!' _I thought sarcastically. Apparently he had gotten bored once I fell unconscious, so he called an ambulance, making it look like I had tried to kill myself. Yup, life just didn't get much better than this. Who could ask for more, right? What could beat being under suicide watch, while strapped to a hospital bed, arms throbbing like they're on fire, after ripping the damned stitches from my freak out? Bah. Well, at least there was an upside to all this.

My dad was going on a business trip for a month. I loved when he left for important business crap. It gave me time to heal, and rest. Now all I had to do was find a way to tell Yugi he had to leave me alone, _without _hurting him. But he seemed so… Easily broken. I couldn't stand the thought of Yugi, My Dream Angel, sitting on the floor, small body racked with sobs. Especially it were caused by me. I'd never forgive myself. I couldn't hurt him, but I couldn't let my dad hurt him either. And that's exactly what would happen if he stuck around. Besides, even when my dad was gone, I still had a job to do, no matter how much I despised it. And I couldn't exactly hide it from him when my dad had set someone up for me every day, from the day I was supposed to be released from the hospital, until he came back. I could just imagine what he would think if he found out what I really was.

He'd be completely disgusted. Hell, even _I _was disgusted with myself for it. Unfortunately I didn't have much of a choice. I looked at the clock. It was 11:30 a.m. I hated Sunday's sometimes. They always seemed to go by so slow… I sighed again, banging my head against the pillow. Tears filled my eyes, and I tried to blink them away, only making them fall faster. I gave up and just let them slip down my cheeks. I missed Marik. I hadn't seen him in so long… It left a gaping hole in my chest. I missed his innocent laughter, and his hugs, even though half of the time it hurt due to the bruises he never knew were there until that night. He must have been so worried… I could just picture his face, eyes full of worry, thinking I could be hurt. The warm tears started falling faster, and I bit my lip, suppressing a sob at the thought. I was wrenched from my thoughts as the door creaked open. Thinking it was just a nurse coming to check up on me, I closed my eyes, and stated, "I'm not dead, so you can go away." voice harsh and laced with ice.

"Atem…"

My eyes went wide at the soft voice I instantly recognized, and my head shot up to look at him. "Yugi! …Uh, look," I sighed averting my eyes from his face, barely peaking in through the door. "I need to tell you something, but… I don't want you to take it the wrong way."

"Um, okay, one sec." I heard the door close, and some whispers sounding behind it. After about a minute, he walked in, shutting the door behind him, and took a seat next to me. "Do you want me to take those straps off for you?" he asked, glaring at the things, almost as much hate on his face as I felt for them.

I just shook my head slowly, trying to find my voice again. I had to tell him, it was for his own good… So, why was it so hard?

"Atem, are you okay? You've been crying! Whats wrong?" The concern in his voice made me smile a little. I just shook my head. "It's nothing. I'm fine." Every word coming out of my mouth felt like poison. "I just… You…" I took in a shaky breath. "Can you do me a favor?" '_What the hell are you doing!' _A voice screamed at me in the back of my mind.

Yugi was starting to look more worried for every second that passed. "Of cores, what is it?"

_'Tell him to leave! Tell him not to come back!'_ "Could you… bring my brother here, to see me? I really miss him." I whispered, tears forming in my eyes again. _'You. Fucking. Idiot.' _

Yugi's eyes went wide. "You have a brother?"

I nodded. _'Fine. Be stupid. But don't come crying to me when he finds out what you are!'_

"Yup, a little brother. Marik. He's staying at his friend, Bakura's, house."

Yugi nodded this time. "Alright, no problem. Where's he live?"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and some kid with blond hair walked in.

I recognized him vaguely as someone from my school.

"I think I know who you're talking about, that's Ryou's Little bro."

I narrowed my eyes at the guy who had just walked in, and turned to look at Yugi, beyond pissed. What was he doing here? Why the hell would he bring someone with him? I wasn't some side show at the circus! My eyes widened in outrage when I saw him smile. My voice seemed to have abandoned me again, so I settled for growling in anger. Both boys stared at me in shock for a few minutes, every second ticking by making me angrier, as my eyes turned back and forth between the two, before settling on the blond.

Yugi was the first to snap out of his trans. "A-Atem… Whats wrong? Are you okay?"

I snapped my gaze to Yugi, who took a step back. I closed my eyes, and inhaled deeply, trying to calm myself, to no avail. All it did was replace my anger with hurt. I decided it would have to do, just as long as I could keep my anger at bay. Letting the breath out, I opened my eyes to look at Yugi, then back to the blond. "What are you doing here?"

He was about to open his mouth when a girl walked into the room. Another fellow student.

I was finding it increasingly hard to keep my anger in check, glad, for the first time since I got here, for the restraints holding me down.

The girl rested her hand on mine. I tried to flinch away from her, but I was stuck. The sudden urge to scream drifted through my mind. I had to bite my tongue to keep myself quiet. Go figure, I bit down to hard, making myself whimper slightly in pain. I cursed myself for being so damn weak, both physically and emotionally. I should have told him to leave the second I saw him sitting next to me the other day. But of cores not. I let him in, and now look what was happening. I was turning into the school's very own side show freak. _'come one, come all, to see Atem the freak, chained down like a dieing animal. _

"Oh, Atem, please don't cry! It's okay, this isn't what you think, I swear." The girl spoke up. I hadn't realized I was crying.

_Oh great. _I thought bitterly.

"We came for support, I swear."

I glared at her. "Yeah, because everyone just _loves _to help out crazy ass holes like me, right?" I asked her sarcastically.

She smiled softly at me. "No, not everyone. Normally people don't really care, but tell me something. How normal do we honestly seem to you? Have you not _seen _us at school?"

The glare slid off my face, replaced with confusion, and uncertainty, as I just stared at her.

She looked to the other two boys. "Could you give us a moment please?"

The two nodded, and started for the door.

"No wait!" I freaked out, surprising everyone in the room, including me. I didn't want Yugi to leave.

"We'll just be right outside the door, I promise." He said, as he closed the door behind him. I just stared at it, horrified.

The girl sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Would you feel more comfortable if I undid the restraints?"

I just looked at my feet. I saw her nod out of my peripheral vision, and she undid one of the straps. Once the strap was loose enough, I wriggled my arm out of it roughly, not waiting for it to be completely undone.

She glared at me. "You shouldn't do that! You could end up hurting yourself," She scolded me, making me raise an eyebrow at her.

"If it makes you feel any better…" I muttered.

She smiled warmly. "Yes, it would, actually."

I just shrugged, as she walked around the bed to undo the other one, and waited until she straitened up, to lift my arm. I sat up, rubbing my wrists, and looked up at her.

"Thanks." I told her, and stretched, relived to be able to do so.

She just smiled and settled back down into the chair. We sat in silence for a while, her sitting back in the chair, ankles crossed, me sitting cross-legged on my bed, back resting against the head board. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

I furrowed my brow, staring at the stitches on my arm. "I don't understand." I whispered.

"Understand what?" She questioned.

"Why are you here?"

"Because we want to help you Atem."

"But why? Why do you care?"

"Because Yugi cares about you."

"He shouldn't though. He shouldn't be here. None of you should." I looked up in time to see her face cloud with confusion.

"What are you talking about? Why not?"

I sighed. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that it'd be better if you three would just leave me alone... No offence or anything…"

"Better for whom exactly? Yugi needs friends right now, and don't deny that you don't also."

I shook my head and glared at the wall. "Trust me, I'm used to coping on my own, and I'm sure he'd be just fine without me. We just met two days ago."

"You're wrong. I don't think he could handle loosing someone else."

I snapped my head back to the girl. "What are you talking about?"

She just sighed sadly. "He just lost his mom. And now he's living with his dad, and Joey. It's hard for him; he didn't even know his dad until last night."

My eyes widened. "His… mother's… Dead?" Maybe that's what he was crying about yesterday.

She nodded her head. "She died of cancer just a couple days ago."

"Shit." I voiced my thought aloud. What was I supposed to do? I'd be released from the hospital in three days, thanks to my oh so loving father, telling the doctors he'd be having someone checking up on me every day. Yup, cause paying to fuck a guy could be considered 'checking up on him' right? I rolled my eyes inwardly at the thought. How was I supposed to keep that from them? No doubt they'd have at least one of them following me around everyday to make sure I wasn't going to try to kill my self again. I scoffed at the thought. I hated having everyone think I was some suicidal kid. I'd never try killing myself. Odds are, my dad would just follow me and haunt me in the afterlife anyway.

Now there's a thought. An eternity of my dad. Ugh, I think I'd rather walk through hell. Which, according to my father, I was going to anyway. Yeah, he was fun guy wasn't he? _'Well I guess Yugi will end up leaving on his own anyway.' _I thought bitterly. At least he wouldn't get hurt. I just wondered if I could handle it. The look of disgust on his face as he flinched away from me, telling me he didn't want to be friends with someone like me. Just thinking of it made my head spin with horror. And once again, I felt tears slip down my cheeks. What was with this? Who told them they could suddenly fall when ever they felt like it? I'd really have to learn to control them better before my dad came back, or god knows what he'd do. I wiped at my eyes furiously, trying to get them to stop, and I felt the girls eyes on me. I couldn't look at her, it was to humiliating. I sighed. "Well fine. But could you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Could you bring me some real clothes? I have no idea what happened to my other ones." I fiddled with my hospital gown. "My house'll be unlocked, and my dads away for a business trip, so he won't be there."

"Of cores. Is there anything in particular you want?" She asked.

I thought for a minute. "Something with long sleeves? I don't want Marik to see..." I motioned to my arms.

It made her look at my arms for the fist time. She gasped and grabbed my arm, looking at it intently, running a finger up and down it. "Geeze Atem. How long have you been doing this to yourself?" Her voice was full of shock, and laced with concern.

I ripped my arm out of her grasp, grimacing at the pain from the move. Was that all anyone could ever think about? "It doesn't matter. What's done is done, so drop it." There. No truth, but no lie.

She saw right through me however, giving me a patronizing look, but after a moment, it turned soft. "Atem," she whispered, "Is your dad doing this to you?"

My eyes narrowed. '_Shit! Crap! Fuck! Dimmit!' _I thought intelligently. "What the hell? What's wrong with you? Ya know what, forget it! Get out!" I masked my growing panic with anger, as if she were way off the mark.

"But-"

"No! I don't care! Get out! NOW!" I yelled the last word, making me freeze. I was standing up, hands balled into tight fists. I blinked, and sat back down, hiding my face in my hands, as I heard Yugi rush in the room. "I'm sorry." It was barley a whisper. "God I'm so sorry." I was shaking uncontrollably.

"What happed? Are you okay?" Yugi asked frantically. I just shook my head.

"Please just go." My head was still in my hands, and my voice broke.

"Tea, what happened?" I missed her response, since she didn't say anything, but I heard someone leave the room after about half a minute. There was a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up, still horrified at what had happened.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yugi asked me.

I took a shaky breath in. "Yeah, I just need some time to calm down."

He nodded. "Kay. We'll come back tomorrow." The small teen smiled, and walked out after I nodded. I didn't really want him to leave. In fact, I wished more than anything that he would stay, but I kept silent as he walked out the door. I couldn't control the tears when the footsteps faded into silence. I just let them fall rapidly, staining my cheeks. I was alone again. Normally I liked being alone, It meant my dad wasn't around, but this time, it clawed at my chest. The silence was drumming in my ears I never really wanted to tell anyone about what my dad was doing before, -I always felt like it made me week, and would make people think I couldn't defend myself properly- but now, all I wanted was to tell them everything. _'No, Him.' _Beg them to help me. _'Nope, just him. I could cry to him, let him comfort me, holding me in his arms…' _I shook my head in shock. Where the hell did _that _come from? I sighed, lying back down on the bed, and pressed the Morphine button, waiting for sleep to find me.

Even in sleep I couldn't rest. My dreams were worse than ever. It started out like they normally did; my dad beating the crap out of me. But what made it weird was when my dad turned into me, and I sneered down at the small form in front of me. When I got a closer look I realized it was Yugi, and laughed manically, much like my own father.

It was dark when I woke up, and I could still here Yugi's petrified screams, and moans of pain, echoing through my mind. I tried to sit up to curl into myself, but one of the nurses must have come in and strapped me back up. I couldn't stand this. Suddenly I heard ear piercing screams, filled with terror and pain. Why wouldn't it stop! It went on for a good five minutes before nurses came flooding into the room. That's when I noticed the screaming was coming from me, tears were running down my face in a never ending stream of misery, and I was thrashing around, trying hopelessly to get free. But as soon as I realized what I was doing, I slowly started to calm myself down, imagining my mother standing by my bed.

I hadn't done that since I was thirteen. By that time, I'd lost all hope of anyone saving me. It was better that way. But now… I was starting to hope again. And that was bad, letting myself hope would bring back other emotions I knew I couldn't afford to feel. Once I had completely calmed down, the nurses left, and I looked at the clock. It was four in the morning. My body slumped, and I let my thoughts drift around Yugi. Eventually I fell back asleep, this time dreaming about the two of us, Ranging from us hanging out with Joey, Tea, and Marik, -who for some reason was ten years older- to us being alone, doing things I refuse to repeat. I was in the middle of one of my more favored dreams when I was rudely awakened by someone hastily shaking me by the shoulder.

"Atem! Come on bud, get up!" I opened my eyes, to be greeted by a pair of golden brown eyes that I learned belonged to Joey when he backed up a bit. His voice was laced with excitement, and humor, Making me grown, still sleepy. He smiled widely, and threw a heap of cloths on me, making me blink at him in surprise. "Well? Hurry up and get dressed. Yug and Tea are downstairs tryin to contain your little bro."

I blushed at the mention of Yugi.

"And lemme tell ya, it aint easy. You'd think we gave him candy and told him we were takin him to the park!" He laughed again, and I got up slowly, surprised to see I was already freed from my restraints.

"What time is it?" I asked, voice thick from a restless night, and picked up the cloths, heading for the bathroom to change.

"Its almost one." He replied happily. I winced at his answer. Normally I'd get beat for sleeping in so late. I didn't let it happen often. When I was dressed, I sighed in relief at being back in normal cloths, and walked out of the bathroom.

"Kay, stay here. I'll go get the others."

I nodded, and sat on my bed. A smile spread across my lips when he walked out. I missed Marik so much I was practically jumping up and down like a school girl in anticipation. I shot to my feet when the doorknob turned.

Marik ran in, practically _flying _into me.

I 'oomphed' on impact, but picked him up, squeezing him close to me like he could disappear at any moment.

"I missed you Temy!" He exclaimed in a partially broken voice.

Tears started forming in my eyes again, making me squeeze them shut. "I missed you too shorty!" My voice broke, and I couldn't control it, tears streamed down my face, as I hugged him tighter, sniffing.

His little arms tightened around my neck in return. "How come you left me there for so long? I thought somethin happened to ya! You promised you'd be okay Temy! You promised!" He stared crying half way though his rant, and was now sobbing, face buried in my shoulder.

I sat down on my bed, and set the sobbing boy on my knee. The others now all but completely forgotten. "I know Marik, im sorry, but I'm okay aren't I?"

He nodded his head against my shoulder. "I guess…" came his muffled reply.

"And hey, you'll be able to come home soon." He looked up at me in shock.

"But…" He sniffed, "What about…" He whimpered and let his voice trail off, but I knew he was talking about our father.

"It's taken care of for now. We'll be fine, I promise."

"Are ya sure Temy?"

I nodded.

"Positive?"

"Yes, I'm one hundred percent positive."

He giggled. "Only fools are positive Temy!" He yelled happily, and screamed when I tossed him on the bed and started tickling him.

He broke out in fits of laughter, as I deepened my voice to sound rough, repeating 'I pitty da fool,' at regular intervals. He tried to retaliate but that just got me to pin his hands down with one hand, tickling his stomach and sides with the other.

I reliesed him about five minutes later, laughing as he stood up on the bed and threw himself on top of me. I heard a giggle from the other end of the room and snapped up immediately, holding onto Marik protectively. My brother's presence had disoriented me. I blinked, remembering the last couple of days, and blushed deep crimson as I looked into

Yugi's eyes. He gave me a strange look, and tilted his head when he saw the blood rush across my cheeks.

Marik giggled and whispered in my ear, "Temy's got a boyfriend!"

I scowled at him, silently telling him to 'shut it.' I had no idea what I felt for the short teen, but I couldn't like him in _that _way. Could I? Suddenly my mind was screaming at me. '_what the hell? I'm not even gay!' _Or at least I didn't _think _I was… I never really cared to look at anyone, to busy trying to keep them away from me.

"So, when are you supposed to be released?" Yugi asked me, a smile spread across his face.

I sighed. "Two more days."

He looked shocked at the news.

"My dad has someone coming to check up on me every day while he's gone." I rolled my eyes, still resenting my father's lame excuse. It was just a little _too _morbid for me.

He nodded his head, and rounded his lips into an O shape.

The next two days were nice, though the nights were still filled with nightmares and other dreams. My dreams stayed the same, the first dream being me beating Yugi, I'd wake up screaming, go back to sleep, and dream about the two of us being together.

On Monday Yugi brought Marik, Joey, Tea, and that other kid, -Tristan- They normally hung out with at school. We joked, and laughed, playing around all day, until at about five, when Joey, Tea, and Tristan left. Yugi and I were sitting side by side on my bed, legs sprawled out in front of us, with Marik lying over us both, sleeping.

Yugi told me about his mom, and talked about how he felt about going to live his dad. He had his likes -Joey, Tea, and Tristan- and Dislikes -His Father- about the whole situation.

In return, I talked about Marik, and what I remembered about my own mother. We both laughed, joked, cried and ranted about things that had happened in the past few years. Yugi mostly cried, and I mostly ranted, keeping certain details to myself.

On Tuesday, Tea and Tristan didn't come due to a big test they had to study for. Ryou and Bakura came in they're place after being begged by Marik. It was weird having so many different people around. It made me nervous sometime, but all it took to calm me down was a reassuring smile from Yugi, hearing Marik giggle, knowing he was happy, or sometimes, just picturing my mother beside me, smiling and laughing along with us. I didn't notice myself getting way too wrapped up in the bliss of having friends until Wednesday. The day I was released from the hospital.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line :)**

**A/N: Read and Review please! :)**

**Chapter five**

**My Crazy Day**

I heard a hum of voices. A _loud _hum of voices. It wouldn't go away. All I wanted to do was sleep and no one could shut up! Yugi and I had stayed up all night talking until he had to go to school. After he left, it took me about three hours to get to sleep, and I didn't want to wake up. I liked the dream I was having, so I fought against waking up as much as I could, but the damn voices were too loud. I sighed in frustration and opened my eyes to glare at everyone in my room. Suddenly the room erupted in cheers, making me roll my eyes. This was _not _a day to celebrate.

"I'm not being released until five." I growled, still annoyed. A simultaneous moan of disappointment could be heard from them. I smiled triumphantly as they all got the hint and started leaving. Everyone, that is, besides one of my two favorite people there.

Yugi stood off to the side, looking exhausted.

"Come here." I motioned for him to sit next to me as I scooted to the left, making room for him, happy I wasn't strapped down.

He sat next to me and stole my pillow.

I chuckled as I watched him make himself comfortable, snuggling with the stolen pillow. "Hey, that's mine."

"Hmmm… fine." He threw it at me, making me laugh, and pushed my chest down, resting his head on me.

I felt the blood rushing to my face. "Uhh, Yugi?"

"Hmmm?" Was all the response he gave.

I just stayed silent, and after about half a minute he looked up.

"Oh… Was I making you uncomfortable?" He sat up, and looked at the ground. "Sorry." He mumbled.

I just shook my head and smiled, bringing him back down to lay his head on my chest again. "No, your fine. Go ahead and sleep, you have two hours till I have to leave."

He closed his eyes contently, burrowing his face in my chest, making my blush deepen.

"Technically you don't _have _to. You just _get _to."

Little did he know that, I really didn't have a choice. I had someone 'coming to check up on me' at six, which didn't give me much time to get rid of everybody, and convince Marik to stay with Bakura for a couple more hours.

"Yes I do _have _to. I've been here for almost a week, and I might go crazy if I don't get out of here as soon as I can." I joked.

"But if you go back to sleep, you wont even notice the difference."

I sighed. "I don't think I'll be getting back to sleep."

He mumbled something I couldn't make out, and fell asleep.

I just sat there staring at him for a while. He seemed so peaceful. He was smiling… I never met someone who smiled in there sleep before. Of cores it wasn't a big smile, just a small, barely there, almost smirk. After a while I started watching T.V. Some show called N.C.I.S. caught my interest. I noticed the girls were pretty, but half way through the show I caught myself looking at the guy named Tony. _'Well would ya look at that… I think I _am_ gay! Ha, how funny.' _I started laughing, which woke Yugi up.

He looked at me confused. "What's so funny?" He asked me, voice thick from sleepiness.

I thought about telling him, but didn't want to make him uncomfortable, so I just shook my head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. It's just something on this show I'm watching. It's actually really funny." It wasn't a lie. The show _was _pretty funny.

He looked over at the clock and laughed. "They'll probably be here soon anyway."

That surprised me. "But it's only four thirty…"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I know."

"Why would they come so early?" I tried to make since of it in my head, but to no avail. It didn't make any since to me.

"I dunno, I was just joking. They all like you, they're probably way anxious for you to get out."

I chuckled softly, "You make it sound like I'm in jail." Half the time it felt that way.

Just then Kelly, a day nurse who had taken a liking to me, walked in, smiling at the two of us. "It's nice to see you laughing and joking around Atem. I suppose I should thank this young man for that wonderful smile on your face." At the last part she winked, and laughed openly at the blush I brought to both of our faces.

I had to suppress a sigh of disappointment as Yugi sat up, away from me awkwardly, obviously not liking what the nurse was insinuating.

"So how are you feeling today?"

"Fine, other then the fact my arms still hurt." I grimaced slightly, more for show than out of pain. My arms _did_ hurt, but I learned years ago to ignore it.

"Well that's what happens when you do that to yourself. I don't know what got into you to do something like that. Especially with all the loving people you have around you. Oh if you could have seen your poor father when you were brought in here like that…"

I tensed at the mention of my 'poor father', but kept control of myself as I said, "I could only imaging what he looked like," In a flat tone.

Yugi give me a strange look as he asked, "Why _did _you do it?"

I sighed inwardly at his question. I had been avoiding that conversation the entire time I'd been there, but now I couldn't find a way around it. "I dunno…" I replied, looking out the window, not wanting to see their scrutinizing gazes.

"Well I've got patients to check up on, so I'll just leave you two to it then." Kelly said as she walked out, closing the door behind her.

"You can tell me Atem," Yugi said softly.

I shook my head. "Can we not talk about this right now please?" My voice was sharp, but I didn't care. I couldn't think of anything to say, and I felt like he had backed me up in a corner.

"Fine, I'll drop it, I just don't understand is all." He said solftly.

We sat in silence after that, each lost in thoughts of our own, waiting for everyone to show up.

When they walked in Yugi's head was leaning on my shoulder, and my arm was draped around both of his. Neither of us had noticed until Joey walked in with a grin reaching from one ear to the other, and Marik was giggling at something Joey had said to him.

I blushed and took my arm back, scowling at the two.

"Hey guys." Yugi smiled, barely lifting his head.

"Yug, you look like shit." Joey laughed, making Yugi scowl at him.

"Thanks Joey." Came Yugi's sarcastic reply.

"Any time." He joked.

He just rolled my eyes at him." Whatever."

I helped Yugi out of my bed, and started for the door before I looked around and asked, "Where're the others?"

"Out in the car. They're animals I tell ya, animals."

Marik giggled, as I raised an eyebrow at the blond.

"Who's all there?" I asked wearily, not exactly in the mood to deal with a crowd of people.

"Everyone man. Its amazing we all fit in the car." He shook his head, wide eyed.

I sighed, not looking forward to the ride home.

"Well, I guess we should get going." Yugi spoke up, stumbling toward the door.

I nodded, and put his arm over my shoulders to make sure he didn't fall over, and extended one hand for Marik, who took it happily. We walked out to the car in silence. I only wished that silence had lasted longer.

As soon as they saw us, everyone came running, engulfing my mind with loud, overly chipper voices. Joey wasn't joking when he said _everyone _was there. Ryou with Bakura and their parents, Tea, Tristan, even Yugi's father and step mother. Not to mention the three people walking with me. I couldn't handle the noise. Not even picturing my mother helped, she just chatted along with everyone, making me glare at her, telling her she was of no help. I tried to calm myself by taking a deep breath, but of cores, it didn't work, so I squeezed my eyes shut. No matter what I tried, the over bearing sound of voices penetrated my defenses as if they were cardboard. No, I was definitely _not _looking forward to the ride home.

Yugi was the only one to notice my stress, "Guys… GUYS!" He had to shout to get their attention. "Come on guys, your being obnoxious. Atem's probably tired, and doesn't need you crowding him."

I smiled my thanks at him, mentally declaring that, as of this moment, he was now my favorite person, aside from Marik. No one could pass Marik. He was my eleven on a one to ten scale, and Yugi was a ten. Everyone else at the moment, was at a one, for being so chipper. Stupid happy people.

My fears were realized as we all piled into the van. They _were _still being loud and obnoxious all the way to my house, talking away happily about my release, like they'd totally forgotten the reason I was _there _in the first place.

About half way there, I finally found my voice to ask Marik to stay with Bakura. "Marik…"

He looked up at me, eyes shining with happiness, making my heart squeeze. "Yeah big bro?"

"I know I've been gone for a long time, but do you think you could hang in there for a couple more hours?" I looked up at Bakura's parents, seeing the two of them nodding in understanding, or what they _thought _was understanding, and I looked back down to my little brother.

He looked at me like I had just told him he was dieing, shaking his head furiously. "I don't wanna Temy! I missed you! I don't wanna be away no more!" He had tears in his eyes.

"I know Shorty, but I promise it'll only be a couple more hours. I'll come get you at _exactly _seven thirty. If I'm late, you can name the price, and I'll pay no matter what it is."

He smiled evilly. "Anytheen Temy?"

I rolled my eyes, but replied with a nod. "Yup, _anything._"

He nodded. "Okay then, you can't be passed seven thirty. Not even seven thirty-one."

"Deal." I nodded, and he grinned, thinking I'd be late. I stayed silent the rest of the ride home, letting Marik hold my hand tightly, and listened to the conversations going on around me. Joey and Ryou were joking around with Marik and Bakura, Yugi was talking quietly with Tea and Tristan, and the four parents were chatting with each other about their kids. I felt a slight pang of jealously. Everyone was so happy and carefree. The worst they had to worry about were the next bills they'd have to pay, or undone homework. I wished with everything I had that was all my worries revolved around. I sighed, blinking back a couple forsaken tears, promising myself I'd be able to brake down in the comfort and safety of my room.

I was surprised when no one protested me going home alone. They must have thought I needed rest, which in truth I did. Unfortunately I didn't have time for that… at least not just yet. I thanked Yugi's father for the ride, and thanked Bakura's parents for letting Marik stay with them before I closed the car door and walked into my house. As soon as the door closed behind me and I heard them drive away I let out a blood curdling, body shaking, ear piercing scream, and dropped to my knees, letting myself shake with loud sobs. This past week had taken a lot out of me, and scared the hell out of me. It was too much. I couldn't stand the thought of loosing my new-found friends, especially Yugi. _What am I gonna do when he finds out what I am? I can't just tell him why I have to do this… can I? No! My dad would kill me.'_

After about half an hour, I calmed myself down, and got up to walk, shakily, to the bathroom so I could take a shower and get dressed before the man came. I turned the hot water tab on all the way, and turned the cold water tab a little, so it wouldn't melt my skin off, and stood under the water, letting it run down my bruised and broken body, washing away all thought of what I knew was coming. My mind was free for this moment, as the scolding water washed everything away. My thoughts of the bruises and cuts on my body, my father, Yugi, Marik, Tea, Tristan, Joey… All erased from my head. It was just me, feeling the droplets pelt my skin. It felt so nice, it almost made me smile. I could have lived like that forever. Thinking about absolutely nothing, just standing there, void of any emotions. Who needed emotions? They were always in the way. So I let them all go, until I knew it was time to get out.

I heaved a heavy sigh, and stepped out, turning the water off, and wrapped a towel around my waist. I had no idea what I would wear… Then again, wearing nothing would probably be better anyway… I laughed at that thought. It would at least make it faster, if even by a couple seconds. Thethought was tempting, but I knew it wouldn't be a good idea. If my dad found out about it, he'd think I was being lazy, which yeah, maybe I was. But still… I looked at the clock and sighed, reading 5:45. He'd be here soon, so I settled on a pair of loose jeans, and an old t-shirt, after I dried my hair. Just as I pulled the shirt over my head the door bell rang. Fighting the urge to bang my head against the wall, I walked to the door. My eyes widened in a mix of surprise and horror when I saw Yugi standing on my porch. I looked around behind him fervently for any signs of the man. Satisfied when I saw none, I yanked the small teen into the house and slammed the door behind him.

"Atem, I-"

"What are you doing here Yugi?" I cut him off harshly, not able to contain the anger in my voice. He looked at me, shocked and a bit hurt. He let his head fall, gaze landing on his shoes.

"I- I just wanted to make sure you were okay…" He said in a timid whisper.

My face softened along with my voice, feeling ashamed at myself for being an ass to my dream Angel.

"I'm sorry Yugi, I just…" How was I supposed to finish that sentence? Just what? Damit! I hated not being able to really talk to him. Tell him exactly what was going on. I sighed. "I'm sorry."

He looked back up at me with a small smile. "It's okay. I'm sure you're just tired,"

If only it were that simple. There was knock at the door, making me snap my gaze to it with wide horror filled eyes.

"Look, right now is a bad time, but could you do me a favor? Go upstairs as quietly as you can, and stay in my room until I come get you! Please promise me you won't come out until then, and I'll explain everything! Go! Hurry!"

He did as he was told, rushing upstairs as quickly as he could, albeit somewhat confused.

I took a steadying breath, and opened the door. This time it _was _the man I was expecting. "Come in." I stepped out of the way to let him inside.

"Okay, here's the deal: No talking, just moaning. A lot of moaning, I'm not paying you for nothing. After, I'll leave the money and go. If word gets around, I assure you, you _will _be sorry. Got it?"

I stifled an eye roll, and nodded, walking briskly to the couch. He pushed me down, quickly pulling down my pants.

It took all my will power not to punch the guy. I did as I was told, moaning loudly. -Masking the damned pain and frustration I felt- Luckily he was a minute man, so he was gone as quickly as he came. As soon as the front door closed, I pulled up my pants, and ran to my room, knocking on the door softly.

"Come in…" His voice sounded soft and unsure.

I readied myself to see the look of disgust on his face before I walked in, head hanging low, refusing to look up. "I still owe you an explanation… That is, if you still want one." There was no masking the pain in my voice, and I cursed inwardly.

"Atem…"

I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and shut my eyes tightly, waiting for his harsh words.

"Atem, look at me." It was soft but firm, like a parent scolding a young child.

Reluctantly, I lifted my head to look at his face.

He didn't look disgusted, mad, or even confused. In fact, the expression on his face held nothing but sad understanding.

I had to blink a couple times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

"Good, thank you." He smiled sadly. "Of cores I still want an explanation. What did you expect? For me to storm out like a mad man?"

I couldn't lie to him anymore, so I just nodded my head in shame. "Sorta… I mean… now that you know… It just kind of makes since for you to… I dunno… be freaked out or something" My voice never reached above a whisper.

"The only person that freaks me out is that guy. Not you."

"But… how are you not disgusted with me?" I shook my head. "I don't understand.

"I guess we both have a lot more to learn about each other don't we?"

"There's an understatement." I said with a nod, making him chuckle.

"So how about we start over?"

"Sounds good to me." I smiled and shrugged.

"Okay then. Hi, I'm Yugi." He said, holding a hand out to me, which I shook, laughing.

"Hey Yugi, I'm Atem."

"Tell me about yourself Atem." Suddenly he became serious, making me sigh and look down at the ground.

"What do you want to know?" I mumbled quietly.

"Hmm, what do you like to do in your spare time?"

I looked up at him and glared. Was he accusing me of getting a kick out of being used to fulfill desperate peoples needs and wants? "I certainly do not _enjoy that, _if that's what your implying. I just so happen to hate it."

He looked taken aback. "Well, no I wasn't implying that… but if you hate it, why do it? You can always just get a normal job."

"Trust me, if that was an option, I would have done that years ago."

Yugi's eyes widened, and I cursed inwardly. "_Years_? Atem, how long have you been doing this? Your only seventeen…"

Shit. Of cores, once again, I said too much. How stupid could I get? I had no idea how to explain that, so, intelligently I said, "Uhhh…" Yeah, real intelligent. Go figure.

His brows knit together as he continued to stare at me. "Why isn't it an option? Is someone _making _you do it?"

I still couldn't look at him, and I _really _didn't know what to say at this point without making things worse. It seemed like nothing I said got passed him. Dammit. "Well… I… Uhh…" I sighed. _'Wow, I'm just a word fucking genius right now.' _I thought, unhelpfully.

"Atem, tell me what's going on. Please. You can talk to me, I swear I won't tell anyone, if you don't want me to, whatever it is." His voice was firm, but soft.

I couldn't say no. Not when he sounded so worried. Not when he was the only person to be able to see right through me. My will power wasn't even close to being strong enough to resist his command. I sighed heavily, and began in a broken whisper, still looking at the ground. "No, I really don't have a choice. He makes me, gets a kick out of it even. I think that's why he still has me do it honestly, 'cause it's funny to him to watch me suffer. I'm his personal side show freak. And I hate it! I seriously can't stand it! It's so… disgusting. I can barely look at myself anymore." I took a long shaky breath in, and let out a short whimper as tears fell down my cheeks. "How can _you _stand to look at me?"

He wrapped is arms around me gently, and my face sunk into his shoulder.

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone Atem?"

I shook my head "Who would believe _me _over my dad? He's this huge, important business man, and I'm just some adolescent kid."

"So is that why you hurt yourself?"

I looked up at him, eyes full of pain. "But that's the thing, I don't. It's just another way for him to control me, and make sure no one would believe me if I tried to say anything."

"My god Atem, I'm so sorry."

I sniffed and continued like he hadn't said anything. "The only reason I'm even still here is so I can protect Marik."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Since my mom died. Marik was only a month old. Believe it or not, he used to be a good guy. He loved my mom and me. We were his life. But when she got pregnant with Marik, she started getting sick. Her body couldn't handle caring for another baby, but she didn't have a miscarriage. We thought she was getting better after she had my little brother, but… one day, out of the blue, she just died, and my dad never recovered from it. I don't think he knows how to. It wasn't that bad at first, but it got worse over time, and it's still getting worse. It's really starting to scare me but… I don't know what to do. I thought he got caught cutting me up when I woke up in the hospital at first. I should have known it wouldn't be _that _easy to get rid of him. It never will be." My legs couldn't stand anymore. I collapsed to the ground, and for the second time that day, let my consume me.

Yugi just sat there, rubbing my back, letting me cry silently.

Finally after what felt like hours, I was able to compose myself. I around looked for a clock, hoping it wasn't seven thirty yet. I really didn't want to pay an unknown debt to my little brother. "What time is it?" I asked quietly.

He looked at his watch. "Seven fifteen. Did you want to go get Marik?"

I nodded. "Trust me, you do _not _want to owe him _anything. _Especially when he's the one who decides _what_ you owe him." I shuddered jokingly, making my best friend laugh.

"I bet. I remember when I was seven, I was evil when it came to getting the things I wanted."

I chuckled. "You? Evil? Ha! Yeah right."

This made him glare at me lightly, and I laughed again. "Oh, you don't even know the half of it. Just ask Joey about how evil I can be"

I widened my eyes in mock horror at him. "What exactly did you do? No, actually, what did _he _do?"

"He thought it'd be funny to put fake spiders all over my bed when I was sleeping the other night, so I took my revenge." His voice sounded casual, but I could sense humor laced in his tone, and noticed he purposely didn't tell what _kind _of revenge he took.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side…"

He chuckled, and stood up. "We should probably get going."

"Right." Was all I said before we got up and left the house to get Marik. It took about ten minutes to get there, as we talked about whatever popped into our minds, joking and laughing the whole way there. The more I got to know him, the more I felt towards my Dream Angel. He was my best friend. The only one who knew even a portion of my secrets. So why did the thought send a small pang through my chest? I was happy to have him, but I knew I wanted more… I wondered idly how he'd handle that if I told him, as I knocked on Ryou's door. I heard a squeek come from the living room, and a pair of feet running to see who was there.

Marik wrenched the door open, a huge smile on his face.

I looked at my watch, reading 7:26 and smiled. "Told you I wouldn't be late."

That got a giggle out of him. "No fare! Your early!"

"Oh? And is that a bad thing?"

He shook his head. "No, but can we stay for a little bit longer, pleeeaase Temy, me and Bakura are playing Mortal Combat, and I'm kickin his butt!"

I looked over to Yugi, who shrugged, and nodded. "If it's okay with his parents, then sure."

Just then Jen, Bakura's and Ryou's mother, popped up. I learned her name when they were driving me home from the hospital earlier. She scoffed. "_If. _Ha! Now that's an insult. You can stay as long as you like. How about you three stay for dinner? We're having Mexican food tonight."

"Sounds good to me." Yugi spoke up happily, and turned to look at me.

"Actually it sounds great. Thanks Mrs…" I had yet to learn their last name.

"You can call me Jen, or Mom, if you like."

I felt a tug at my heart. She was such a nice person, she very well could be a second mother to me.

"Okay." I grinned. "Mom."

Her face lit up like the sun, and she ushered us inside.

**A/N: Review please! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is a two weeks after the last chapter. I'm skipping Yugi's Mom's funeral, cuz I have no idea what to put for that… Sorry. They all went though.**

**Read and Review! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line :)  
**

**Chapter six**

**Surprise Surprise**

**Atem's pov**

Sometimes, secrets are kept for the better. Sometimes knowing something can be dangerous. Yugi knowing what he knew was dangerous for him. He may not have known everything, but he knew enough. At first it felt good for him to know, for me to be able to talk to someone about it, but now… Now it was getting bad. He kept prying, trying to get more out of me, and it was getting harder and harder to keep it from him. And I was getting paranoid about what he told the others, Joey and Tea in particular. Tea would give me weird looks, and Joey would act like he was walking on egg shells half the time.

Yugi seemed to be oblivious to their strange behavior, which made me even more paranoid. I wanted to tell him the rest, but how could I? If he _did_ tell the others, what would they do if they found out the rest? And what would come of them? Of Yugi? If my dad found out they knew, all hell would break loose. He's is a smart man, and very powerful. He could worm himself out of just about any legal situation possible. He already had the doctors who saw my scars and bruises believing me to be some suicidal kid who likes to get into a lot of fights. My behavior at school would get anyone to believe the same. People there already thought the worst of me, though I supposed that was my fault.

"Temy! Where are ya?" Marik's voice snapped me back to reality.

I sat up on my bed slowly, still sore from the guy that had left about half an hour ago. "In here!"

Small feet could be heard running up the stairs, and within seconds my door was flung open. "What are ya doin in here still?" Patronizing eyes stared into my own. It was almost unnerving, especially considering he was only seven…

"What are you doing home so early? I thought you were going over to Bakura's house today." I countered.

He just shrugged. "I wanted to spend time with you. We never spend time together no more Temy…" Suddenly his eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"I know kid, I'm sorry." I got off my bed and stood there for a moment, "Hey, I have an idea. How about we go have a picnic?"

He smiled brightly, and started jumping up and down excitedly. "That sounds awesome Temy! Can Bakura come? Please please please please!"

I thought for a moment. "Hmm… Okay, but only if Yugi can to."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Sure, why not? But first you need to go change into your play clothes. I'll go see if they can come with us."

"Kay!" He was half way down the hall before he had time to get the word out. I chuckled and walked down to the living room to the phone. The last two weeks had been almost perfect. At times I even forgot what life really held for me. This made me sigh. It was dangerous to let myself get sucked into this life. My dad would be back in two weeks, and I had to find a way to get Marik out of this mess before it was to late. When I reached the phone in the living room, I punched in Yugi's number first. I had it memorized the day he gave it to me.

He picked up after three rings. "Hey Atem, what's up?"

The sound of his voice seemed to chase all earlier thoughts away. "Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to come to a picnic with me and Marik today?"

"Absolutely! What time do you want me over?"

"Whenever you're ready. Marik's gonna invite Bakura too."

"Great, sounds fun!"

I smiled slightly at his enthusiasm. "Kay, see ya later."

"Later."

I heard a click, pushed the 'OFF' button, and dialed Ryou's number.

"Hello?" Ryou's mother answered.

"Hey, I was wondering if we could steel Bakura for a picnic today?"

"I don't see why not. But you two have to stay and visit for a while before you go."

"No problem, Yugi's coming to."

"Oh that's great! He hasn't been over for a while now."

I could hear the frown in her voice at the last part. "Okay, cool. We'll be over in about an hour or so."

"Alright hun, see ya then."

"Bye." I put the phone back on the hook, and walked to the kitchen to get some food ready.

Marik was already there, and had bread, peanut butter, and jelly out, his head still stuck in the fridge, looking for something.

"When did you get down here?" I asked him, not recalling hearing or seeing him come down.

"When you were talkin to your boyfriend," came his unconcerned reply, making me shake my head and roll my eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend Marik."

He sighed, sounding way to old for my normally clueless little brother, and turned from the fridge to look at me. "Joey's right Temy, you two are a cliché." His answer made my eyes go wide in surprise.

"One," I stared, when I collected myself enough to come back with normally formed words, "I'm _not _a cliché, and two, where the heck did you learn that word? You're hardly old enough to even know what it means."

Suddenly he giggled, sounding much more like a seven year old. "Joey and Tristan taught me."

"You hang out with those two too often."

He shook his head violently. "Nuh uh! I haven't even seen them all day!"

This made me chuckle. "Oh no, a whole day, what _will _you do?" I asked sarcastically, making him giggle again. Suddenly, the door bell rang. "Go get the door; I'll finish getting the stuff ready."

"Kay!" And with that, he ran off.

I decided to bring anything lunch related that didn't have to be cooked, and felt a pang of home sickness. I imagined my mother standing by my side, laughing softly.

"Ah, taking a page out of my book huh? You can never be too prepared."

"Yeah, I remember. I also remember dad having trouble carrying the basket." This made both of us laugh at the memory. I knew it was only me, but it felt nice to pretend _someone _remembered other than me. Of course there _were _two other people who remembered, but I highly doubted bringing it up to my dad would be a good idea, and I hadn't talked to my childhood friend in years. I sighed at the thought. I really missed my old friend. He was like a brother to me back then. Especially after my mom died. That is, before he randomly dropped off the face of the earth, and I was left alone. I never understood why he left. I had always counted on him to keep away the bad things life threw at us, and when he stopped talking to me, and transferred schools, I didn't think I was going to live. In fact, I was almost positive I would die from one of two things: Either by my father's hands, or from emotional trauma. Most of the time, I still felt like that. I hadn't noticed how zoned out I was, until I heard a familiar voice talking to me in the back of my mind. A voice I had come to depend on. I listened intently on one of the few good things still left in my life, letting it bring me back to present time.

"Atem, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Finally, I looked up to see Yugi's face, distorted by worry, and smiled. "Yeah… Guess I just kinda zoned out…"

The worry on his face was replaced by obvious annoyance, and he rolled his eyes at my own, innocent expression. "I think by now, you should know it's futile to lie to me. What's wrong." I knew it was a question, but he said it like he was stating a fact.

I sighed. He was right. It was futile. It had been for the last two weeks. Hell, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he could see through my entire façade the first day he came to visit me at the hospital. "It doesn't matter right now. What matters is that we finish packing so we can go get Marik's friend. Oh, and I promised we'd stay and visit before we left."

Now _he_ sighed. "That's fine. Just promise me you'll talk to me about it later."

A mischievous smirk spread across my features. "Only if you do something for me in return."

His eyes got big, making him look like a ten year old child, and he gulped. "Um… Okay, what is it?"

"Oh, you'll find out. Now, help me pack this stuff."

"But-."

"Nope. It's that or nothing."

"Fine…" Silence fell between us until we were done packing everying.

Yugi was the first to say anything. "Atem… Are you sure all this is really necessary? I mean, it's just the four of us, and I doubt we'll be using half of this."

I just shrugged. "Better safe than sorry, right?"

"I suppose but…"

"What?"

"I hope _you _plan to be the one carrying the basket 'cause I don't thing the rest of us could."

I smiled. "Don't worry, I do."

"Good. So, all we need now, is a blanket, and Marik."

"Well, I don't know where Marik ran off to, but there's a blanket we can use up in the hall closet. I'll get the kid, if you get the blanket."

He nodded slightly, and ran off toward the hall. I chuckled softly and walked out to the backyard to look for Marik. "Marik! C'mon, its time to go!" I yelled out when I spotted him, playing in the sandbox.

"Comin Temy!" He called back, jumping up quickly, and ran straight into me, almost knocking me over.

I omphed, and held him back at arms length. "Ready to go?"

His eyes lit up instantly, and he nodded his head franticly.

"Alright, lets go."

He grabbed my hand, and pulled me back into the house as fast as he could.

I let him drag me until we reached the front door, and stopped him. "Slow down kid. Don't forget about Yugi."

His face fell.

"It'll only take a second, stay here." I walked into the kitchen to grab the basket, expecting Yugi to be there. I looked around, confused when I didn't see him. "Yugi?" _All I asked him to get was a blanket… Maybe he got lost? _I thought, walking upstairs to look for him. As soon as I reached the top steps, the sound of soft sobs met my ears. "Yugi?" I called again.

He cleared his throat and walked out of the bathroom.

My eyes widened at the sight of him. "Yugi, what's wrong?" I asked him, wrapping my arms around him tightly.

He sniffed slightly. "I-I… Sorry… It's nothing."

"No its not. You've let me talk to you, and cry on your shoulder more times than I can count. It's your turn. Please."

He shook his head and held up a blanket, head buried in my chest. "B-before she got sick, we were at the quilting store, a-and there was a blanket that looked just like this, Sh-she wanted it so bad, b-but we didn't have the money for it."

I felt tears in the rim of my eyes, and I blinked them back rubbing his back softly.

His body started to shake with silent sobs again. "God, I miss her so much."

"I know. I'm sorry Yugi. If you want, you can keep the blanket."

He looked up at me wide eyed.

"Really?"

I smiled softly and nodded.

"I couldn't do that… It's so expensive."

I shrugged lightly. "My mom bought it when I was five. It deserves to be with someone who will use it. It just sits in a closet here, 'cause my dad gets pissed whenever I try to take it out. He'd never notice it was gone."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Go ahead and go down stairs; I'll grab a blanket. Just leave that one on the couch. You can grab it later."

He nodded, and walked slowly down stairs, rubbing his eyes softly. I watched him until he was out of sight, walked to the hall closet to grab a random blanket and walked downstairs so we could leave.

On the way to Ryou's house, Marik had my left hand while Yugi was leaning on my right shoulder. Marik talked about the things him and his friends did at school, and a girl he had a crush on. By the time we got to our current destination, his entire face was a dark crimson color from us teasing him about it. I knocked on the door, and looked at Yugi smiling slightly. I liked the feeling of him leaning on me, even if it was just a friendly gesture. Yugi noticed me staring at him, and blinked at me in confusion. I blushed and looked away as Jen opened the door smiling, and ushered us inside.

She looked at Marik, "Bakura's in his room."

He didn't even look back as he ran for his friend.

I chuckled, watching him running off.

"He's such a good kid." Jen cooed, smiling after him.

I nodded. "Yeah, he really is." I sighed. "I just hope he'll stay like that."

Jen nodded, and I looked to Yugi, who was unusually quiet. He looked nervous, and I raised my eyebrow at him, but he didn't notice, since he never brought his gaze away from his shoes.

"Yugi, are you alright?" Jen voiced my thoughts.

This made him look up at her. "Um, yeah, of course." He laughed nervously, "Just, uh, thinking… heh."

My other eyebrow shot up, in a patronizing gaze. Jen didn't seem to notice, as she kept talking.

"I think he'll grow up just fine, having the people he does, to raise him."

I tore my gaze from Yugi, to look back at Jen. "Yeah, your right. I just worry about him sometimes."

She laughed softly. "You sound like _you're _his father."

I chuckled along with her. "You know, sometimes I feel like I _am._" That was a huge understatement. I _was_ raising him. I had been nearly his entire life.

"I can see why, what with your father going away on business trips all the time."

_Not to mention the fact that he doesn't give a shit about Marik in the least. _I added silently. All I could do to keep myself from blurting that fact out, was to clamp my mouth shut, and nod.

She seemed to notice my tension, and tilted her head at me, knitting her brows together, but I forced an easy smile and shrugged.

**Yugi's pov**

I couldn't believe I agreed to come here. I loved hanging out with everyone here, but it started getting weird last week when I noticed I had a crush on Ryou. Of cores I wasn't about to say anything about it. I knew he wasn't into guys, and I didn't want to freak him out, so I just settled on being here as little as possible. At least until I got over my crush. But I really wanted to hang out with Atem to make sure he was okay. Ever since he told me about what his dad made him do, I hated the thought of him being alone, and I knew there was more to it, he wasn't telling me. I tried as hard as I could to get it out of him all the time, but to no avail. He wouldn't let even the smallest hint slip.

"What do say Yugi?"

I looked up at the voice that broke my thought process. "Hmm? About what?"

Atem chuckled before answering me softly. "About going camping this weekend with everyone?"

"Oh, um, yeah, sounds fun." Wow, I must have been really spaced out… I didn't even remember hearing them talk.

Atem just looked at me, worry clear on his face as Jen smiled brightly. "Fantastic! We'll leave on Friday, right after you all get out of school. How's that sound?"

"It sounds great." Atem was the one to answer, seeming to know I wasn't really paying attention. Though he probably thought I was still thinking about my mother, which in truth, she was still on my mind. I knew if she were here, she could help me sort through my problems. Ryou, Atem, even my dad. Atem especially. I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone about what he told me, and I intended on keeping that promise if I could, but not at the cost of his life. God only knows what else that man had put him through. Atem already planned on getting Marik away from their father, even if he couldn't figure out how just yet, but he had no intention of saving himself. I however, wasn't going to stand idly by and watch someone slowly kill him. At almost any cost, I swore to myself, I would get Atem out of there. Hell, I'd run away with him, if it came down to it.

"Good, so it's settled then. Would either of you like a warm cup of tea?"

I looked over to Jen and smiled, nodding my head yes. We followed her to the kitchen, and Atem set the basket on the counter. "So," Our motherly figure started, as she retrieved three cups out of a cupboard, "What kind of drinks do you have for your picnic?"

Atem looked down and sighed, sadly. "Just water. It's all we have."

Jen's smile grew wider. "Well, then, it looks like I get to help you out after all."

It still amazed me, just how motherly she was towards just about everyone.

"We have lots of boxes of Capri Sun, and goodness knows, we need to get rid of some, so I'll send you off with a box or two."

"Thanks. You never cease to amaze me, you know that?"

This made her giggle. "Yes, I know, I'm amazing. It's my job."

Atem laughed openly. "Your Humbleness _astounds _me." He joked.

"Humbleness isn't a real word."

"Well… I couldn't think of the right word."

"You know… Neither can I…"

I liked listening to conversations between the two of them. They always made me smile, no matter what was on my mind. I chuckled to myself, a little louder than I had meant to, making their heads snap towards me. Atem smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulder while Jen sighed happily, and went to looking in cupboards for the boxes of Capri Sun.

"So, what park are we gonna go to?" I asked lightly.

He shook his head. "We're not going to a park."

This confused me, and my head tilted to the left. "Then where?"

"Not telling. You'll see when we get there."

I shrugged. "Okay…"

"Trust me, you'll like it. I promise."

"So, when do you four plan to be back?"

We turned our attention back to Jen, who had finally found what she was looking for, and was setting it on the counter, next to the basket. I looked back to Atem in question, who only shrugged.

"Uh, I'm not sure really… What ever time we get bored I guess… Was there a certain time you wanted Bakura back?"

"Hmm, as long as he's back before dark, I don't mind."

Atem nodded. "Kay, no problem, but I think we should get going now. Thanks for the drinks." He put the juice in the basket, and picked it back up, before leaving to get the two children.

Jen turned to me, and embraced me in a tight hug. "Have fun."

I hugged her back and smiled. "Will do. Thanks." I walked out when she let me go, as she just stood there with a small smile spread across her face.

Atem was already waiting at the door with Bakura and Marik. "You ready?"

I smiled at my friend, and nodded. "Absolutely. Lets go." As we headed out the door, I thought I heard Ryou say something, but I closed the door, pretending I didn't hear him. I didn't notice I was blushing until I looked at Atem, who was watching me with amusement clear on his face, and chuckled.

"You like Ryou." He was trying to hide something from his tone. Something I couldn't quite place, though for a moment, I could have sworn it was sadness. I shook it off, telling myself I'd ask him about it later and just shrugged.

"I don't know… I mean, yeah I do, but…"

"But…?" He inclined.

I shrugged again. "But, he's not into guys. And I don't want to weird him out by telling him I like him."

"Doesn't he know your preference?"

I stifled a sigh. "Well yeah, and he's fine with it, but knowing someone's gay, and knowing someone has a crush on you, are two totally different things."

He nodded understandingly. "True. And if you're being honest about it being a crush, then it'll go away eventually. Right?"

"Exactly. Wow, when'd you start sounding like a parent?" I laughed at the completely horrified expression on his face that was soon cast down into a frown as he shrugged. "Guess it comes from taking care of Marik all these years."

This made me frown in return. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

He just shrugged and smiled. "Yeah, I know. But today's not about all that. Today's about forgetting all that crap and having fun like _normal_ people do." He put a little _to _much emphasis on the word normal, as if it were just a fairy tale, but it made me smile all the same.

"Right, and how about tomorrow? Will that be another one of your themed days?"

He chuckled, before he replied slowly. "Yes. I think it will. Tomorrow will be the day we spill our guts, and cry like little girls. It shall be called… Gay day."

I couldn't stop myself from bursting out in uncontrollable laughter at the last part. His tone seemed so serious, like he was declaring a national holiday or something.

"Hey… what if I take offence to that name?"

This just made him roll his eyes playfully. "I think I'd have to hit you."

I just shrugged. "Okay I don't take offense to that, but only because I think _you're _secretly gay."

Atem snorted before asking. "Oh really?"

"Yup and you're even in love with someone."

"Who?" He inclined.

"Joey." I didn't expect to the reaction I got out of him with this simple joke, but a part of me was glad I did, though it confused the heck out of me.

He burst out in a fit of laughter, then suddenly got serious, bending down to my level, his face mere inches away from mine, and looking me in the eye with an unknown emotion hidden deep in his dark crimson eyes, he whispered softly, "No, not Joey. You." Then he straightened up and laughed, playing it off as a joke.

I had to blink a couple times, trying to clear my head. I thought I had to be imagining things, but I could swear I saw sincerity hidden under his normal mask of indifference. My head was still spinning when I noticed Marik and Bakura running in front of us.

"We're almost there Kura! Just wait till you see it! It's gonna be so fun! Temy, can we swim? Please big brother?" Marik was literally jumping up and down in excitement, and I heard Atem chuckle at his little brother.

"Why didn't you ask before we left? None of us have our swimming clothes."

This made Marik stop in his tracks. "But… We can swim in our normal clothes can't we?"

Atem just shrugged. "If you really want to..."

"Wait… Swimming?" It took a second for it to hit me.

"Yup! It's the funnest place ever!"

"Marik, don't say too much, we don't want to give the surprise away."

"Kay! C'mon Kura!" The two small children ran ahead of us, giggling in excitement.

"They make me think of myself when I was seven, you know?"

Atem nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I know. It's weird to think of myself being so… innocent."

Suddenly, the image of a seven year old Atem giggling at something flashed through my mind, making me laugh. "Aw, I can just imagine how adorable you were. I think I might have to search your house for pictures."

His eyes went wide at my statement. "Not gonna happen. Besides I was never cute. Ever."

I looked up at him just in time to see a small blush spreading across his face.

"You're embarrassed! Ha! My new mission in life has been established!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. And don't get too excited about your 'mission', it's doomed. I'll burn them all before you have a chance."

I stuck out my bottom lip in a pout as I said, "Aw, c'mon Atem…" I added watery eyes, and a soft voice, "Please?"

He was trying his best not to look at me, knowing he couldn't say no to a face so adorable, and sighed as he finally gave in. "All right, but it comes at a price."

"What?" My eyes went wide, "No, come on, I already owe you something!"

"Hm, that's true," a smirk spread across his lips slowly. "But I like knowing your in my debt, it could really come in handy sometime."

I crossed my arms over my chest, pouting silently. I was already nervous enough about the first debt I owed him, and now there were two! "And you say Marik's evil…"

He laughed. "He is, but where do you think he learned it from?"

This made me smile. He was so close to his little brother. I knew it was because Marik was the only good thing he had after his mom died, and his friend left. I was still confused about his old friend. He didn't like to talk about him, hell he hadn't even told me his name, just that he was a very protective person, and eventually left. I couldn't even imagine the pain he'd gone through in his life. The sight of his face, distorted in what could only be described as torture was still burned into my brain from the day he got home from the hospital. The worst part about it was that he was disgusted by himself, not by his father. As much as he hated his father, somehow he always ended up defending him, saying he was still grieving, and he didn't know how to handle it. I had to stifle an eye roll at the thought. That man had sunk to a whole new level of monstrosity.

"Look, we're here."

"Huh?" I'd been so wrapped up in my thoughts I hadn't noticed the scenery change drastically around me. I looked around, and my eyes went wide. We were at the little stream I found the day my mom died… But it seemed different somehow… I just couldn't place my finger on it, though it was still a wonderful sight.

"Wow! This is so cool!"

Marik giggled, "Told ya, you'd like it Kura!"

"I've been here before…" Was all I could manage to say, chocking back unwanted tears at the thought of my mom.

"I know." My head shot up to look back at Atem, completely confused, which seemed to amuse him. He chuckled before continuing on with his sentence. "This is where I first saw you. Remember?"

I'd forgotten about that. "Oh yeah, I thought I was going crazy when I saw you."

"I knew I heard you say something about that… Huh, guess it makes since."

I laughed softly. "Yeah, it's not everyday you see some random guy that looks almost exactly like you."

Atem just shrugged. "I didn't really think much of it."

"Really?"

"Really." Was his only reply, as he picked a spot, and laid the blanket down, setting the basket on top of it, as the two children ran strait to the stream and jumped in.

I furrowed my brow in thought. "So it wasn't the least bit weird to you? At all...?"

He just shrugged, as we started taking things out of the basket.

"How does that seem normal to you?"

"Honestly? I thought I was still sleeping, and..." His words faded out like he still had something to say, but didn't want to.

"And...?"

He averted his gaze from me before saying, "And... Well, I thought I was just dreaming about me as a kid..."

I glared at him suspiciously, "When you say kid... How _old_ did you think I was?"

Still not looking at me, and taking the things out of the basket, he started slowly, "I... Uh... Well..." He finally looked up at me with a sheepish grin, making me narrow my eyes at him suspiciously. "I thought you were thirteen..."

"Thirteen? Are you kidding me?" I asked incredulously. Thirteen! _Great, apparently I look like I haven't even gone through puberty yet!_

"Heh... Well... Sort of."

I couldn't keep the glare on my face for long, seeing his lopsided, guilty grin. "I can just imagine what you thought when you saw me in the school office..." I had to laugh at that thought.

"Honestly, I had a lot on my mind at the time, so I didn't really think much of it."

This made me frown, remembering everything he'd gone through, and the fact that I knew he wasn't telling me everything. I wanted to get more out of him, but I decided to leave it alone for today. "Oh."

"You know what... I'm suddenly not really hungry. I think we should swim." He stood up and jumped into the stream, all in one fluid motion. His shirt went up when he hit the water, revealing his back that was covered in bruises and ragged scars. I noticed a one scar in particular, which went down the length of his right side, and looked like it wrapped around his abdomen.

My eyes widened at the sight, but I quickly hid my shock, telling myself I'd ask him about it tomorrow, and gulped. I didn't like swimming in anything other than a pool. Lakes, oceans, and rivers were gross. "Uh... I think I'll stay on dry land."

A wicked grin swept across his face. I hated that mischievous look he got whenever he had an evil thought. "I don't think so. I'm cashing in one of my favors now. Get in."

I groaned softly. "Aw, c'mon. You can't be serious..." I said, putting on a pouting, puppy dog face. Unfortunately, he seemed suddenly immune to it.

He just shook his head. "That's not gonna work on me. Come on, get in, it's fun, I promise."

I just shook my head stubbornly, resulting in another evil grin from Atem.

"Either you get in on your own, or I'm coming out to drag your ass in. And I can tell you right now, the latter wont be pleasant."

Sighing in defeat, I pealed my shirt off, and jumped in. When I came up for air, I just about screamed. "Jeez! Its freezing!"

Atem just shrugged, swimming around me. "It'll warm up when you swim around a little."

"Somehow I kind of doubt that."

This made him chuckle softly, as he inched closer to me until there was only half a foot of water separating us. Looking into his eyes, I could see something there I'd never noticed before. Something deep and seemingly endless. I couldn't tell what it was, but something about that look drew me toward him, making me close the already tiny gap between us. I could hear him gasp as our skin touched slightly. My breath stopped in my throat as his face slowly bent down toward mine, and I closed my eyes standing on my toes, anticipating what was coming. I felt his arm slip around my waist, pulling me closer to him, as his lips finally met mine, in a soft plea. A blush crept across my cheeks as I kissed him back and heard a few 'eww's coming from the two boys watching us. To my dismay, it ended abruptly as he tore away, backing up as fast as he could with a horrified look on his face, saying, what I thought were, incomprehensible apologies, before dashing out of the water, and away from the stream.

I watched sadly, -and admittedly, confused- as he ran, not moving from where I stood even after I couldn't see him anymore. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I kissed Atem... And _he _started it! _Atem _kissed _me_! That was something I wouldn't have _ever _expected him to do. I still wasn't sure if he really _had_. But the weird part was... I liked it. I honest to God _really _liked it. I didn't even think of him that way... Or at least I didn't before… I hoped Atem was okay... He was probably more confused than I was.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line.**

**A/N: The next chapter probably won't be up for a couple weeks, but there _will_ be another chapter :)  
**

**Chapter Seven**

**Out of Time**

**Atem**

I sighed, shaking my head trying to clear my thoughts, as I pealed my shirt off laying it on the log I was sitting on. I hated the feeling of wet cloths, and tried to keep my mind on the thought of how glad was that I wasn't wearing jeans. But the thought didn't distract me for long, and I went right back to stressing about what happened. I couldn't believe I kissed him! And then ran away! What the hell was wrong with me? What was I thinking? I probably just messed everything up! I began pacing the length of a fallen tree. How could I do something so careless? I knew better, I had for over seven years, so what the hell came over me? But as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I already knew the answer. It was Yugi.

He seemed to be the cause of most of the careless slip ups I'd made lately. Most of the stupid things I'd done. It all mostly revolved around him, or somehow was caused by his presence. One of the most dangerous things I started doing thanks to him was letting myself feel. A lot. And it made it harder to deal with what I had to do, every damned day, and what I'd have to deal with when my father came back. I didn't even know if I could deal with any of it anymore. Every day that went on, I started to feel more, which included feeling the horror, and pain, and even shame of doing things with the random people that paid my father.

It just got worse every day, along with the feelings I had for him. I didn't love him, but I did want to be with him. I still needed to come up with a plan to get Marik to a safe place before my father came back. Hell, I should have already thought of something, but I'd been to wrapped up in having people around – having Yugi around – that I hadn't been giving it enough thought. I couldn't afford to be distracted by everyone, and Yugi seemed to be my biggest distraction. I knew what I had to do... I just didn't know how I was going to do it, or if I even could. But I didn't have much of a choice, with only two weeks left to come up with, and execute a perfectly fool proof plan to get Marik out of this place. I sighed, sliding down the log until I was sitting on the ground. I closed my eyes and hit my head against the log, groaning about my stupidity.

"Atem?"

My head snapped up at the mention of my name, There, standing in front me, was something so impossible, I had to blink a couple times for it to register in my brain. "Mahhad?" I asked, still not quit sure.

He was still gaping at me, and I was suddenly over aware of the fact that I had no shirt on.

I stood up, "Uhh… Mahhad?" I asked again, as I got up slowly.

It took him a while, but he finally shook himself out of his trance to ask me, "What happened to you?"

I knew this was coming, but it didn't make it any easier to come up with a plausible excuse. Not knowing what else to do, I rolled my eyes, answering him as if his question was offensive, "You're kidding right? You sound like my dad." I hoped by trying to cart it off as nothing, he would let it go.

He crossed his arms, and looked at me disapprovingly.

I sighed loudly, and rolled my eyes as I said, "I get into a lot fights. Jeez, don't be so over dramatic," trying to act like I was just another trouble making teen.

"A lot of fights huh? With who, exactly?"

"Why does it matter? What are you doing here anyway?" My tone was dripping with acid, though I wasn't really mad at him. But I wasn't going to get rid of Yugi, just so I could be distracted by the fact my best friend came back.

"Just answer the question."

"Why don't _you _answer _my_ question?"

This made him hesitate, but only for a moment, before he replied slowly. "I…

Well, I'm here for you man. I've been worried about you since… well, you know…" He let his words fade, but I knew exactly what he was talking about.

I hadn't expected that answer. Suddenly I had the urge to punch him. I could understand why he left, but coming back acting like he was worried about me? Hell no. I didn't need him to worry about me, and I sure as hell didn't need him to protect me any more. I hadn't for a long time, so I smiled sarcastically and let him know exactly that. Now, when I spoke, I meant every word, and didn't think twice about my acidic tone. "Yeah? You've been worried about me huh? Poor little defenseless Atem, who can't fend for himself. That was a long time ago. I don't need anyone to fight my battles for me. I can take care of myself. Oh, and to answer your question, anyone who pisses me off, and thinks they can mess with me. You think this is bad?" I motioned to my chest and dropped my voice to a dangerous tone, "You should see them." So much for keeping my lies at a minimum. Whatever.

All he could do was stare at me in shock for a minute. "What's gotten into you?"

I just shrugged lazily. "Seven years is a long time, a lot can change." Unfortunately, I hadn't really changed all that much. I was still some pathetic guy, who couldn't defend himself. But I sure as hell wasn't about to tell him that.

"I can see that." He said in a dry tone, "Well, if that's what you think… I'll just go." He turned to leave, and I opened my mouth to tell him not to go, but he stopped and turned his head back towards me, "I'm staying at the super 8 motel, room 140, if you need me…"

I just sighed, as he started walking again. He was staying at a motel? I might have been pissed off, but motels were expensive, and gross. I couldn't let him stay there, so I shouted for him, "Mahad, wait…"

He turned around, but said nothing.

I sighed in frustration, "Motels are expensive… You shouldn't spend all your money on one…"

He just raised is eyebrows at me in question, so I went on, struggling for words.

"What I'm saying is… you can stay at my place… for a couple weeks… if you want."

He grinned, and started walking back to me. "Great! Thanks man."

I shook my head, "It doesn't change anything."

His smile fell just a little. "Why are you so mad at me Atem?"

"I'm not mad at you. I just… Don't understand."

"Understand what?"

"Why you suddenly came back, after seven years!" I asked, exasperated.

"What are you talking about? What did you expect me to do? I tried to call a million times, but he'd never let me talk to you! Hell Atem, sometimes I'd even hear you screaming! And I'll be damned if your gonna try to tell me those are from getting into a bunch of fights!" He was yelling by now. I could see tears forming in his eyes, but he blinked them back and his face turned cold, like he was contemplating murder. Which I knew could very well be the case.

I shook my head at him, telling myself that lying to him was necessary. "That wasn't me. Marik used to scream a lot. He was really noisy when he was younger." I always wondered why I was never aloud to answer the phone. And I knew that when my dad came back, and checked the phone bills, I was going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble. But I couldn't let myself think about that right now. "And I was grounded… A lot."

"For what exactly? What the hell would you get grounded for on a weekly basis?" This time his voice was low, but sarcastic.

I shrugged again, "I told you, I get in a lot of fights. Actions have consequences. You do the math."

He was yelling again. "How long are you gonna go on with these stupid ass lies? All you're doing is letting him get away with it. And what about Marik? What happens when you leave, huh? Do you honestly think he's gonna stop with you, because he wont. Everything he's doing to you is what he'll do to Marik once you're gone, if he hasn't already started. Are you really gonna let your little brother go through that? Atem, think of what your mom would say! She basically sacrificed her life for him!"

My eyes were wide, and blood was pumping rage throughout my body. I would kill him before I'd let my father lay a finger on Marik. It was all I could do just to keep myself from pouncing on him, and breaking his entire face for insinuating I wasn't thinking about Marik. My voice was low and full of threats as I spoke slowly, and clear. "If you think I'd _ever_ let anyone touch my little brother, your more idiotic then I even thought possible. Don't mistake me for who I used to be Mahad. I _will_ kill the first person who tries to hurt him. And I_ won't_ think twice about it. I told you, I'm not some helpless little kid anymore"

"So why the hell won't you tell anyone what your dad's doing?"

"Because, who the hell would believe me?" As soon as the words were out, I wished I could take them back. I'd just admitted it. He dangled the bait, and I took it. Now he had me backed up into a corner, I couldn't see an escape from.

His voice was soft when he spoke again. "Atem, is that really what this is about? You don't think anyone would believe you?"

I sighed in frustration-, "Look," I said, pissed again, "Marik's gonna be fine. I've got a plan to get him away from all this."

"What about you?"

I made an irritated noise, and looked away, "It doesn't really matter much, does it?"

His eyes went wide and he stared at me, not believing what I was implying, "You're not planning to get yourself out of it… Are you?" His voice was soft, and disbelieving.

I shrugged, "Like I said, I don't matter." I glanced to my right, thinking I saw something, and froze. Marik and Bakura were standing there, watching us. I hated myself now more than I ever had. Bakura was trying to comfort him as he cried silently. I couldn't take it anymore, I hated seeing him cry, so I grabbed my shirt, slipping it back on, and looked over at the two small boys. My voice and face went soft as I looked at them. "Marik, come here." He did as he was told, slowly walking towards me, and I knelt down to pick him up. "Hey, it's alright. Don't cry, bro." I looked up at Mahad for just long enough to say, "Take Bakura back to Yugi. He knows where he is.:

"Bu-but, Temmy…" His words were cut off as he buried his face in my shoulder, making little sniffle noises as he cried.

I shot a cold glare at Mahad before walking away with Marik in my arms. As soon as we were out of sight, and I knew they couldn't hear us, I put him down, and hugged him for a moment. "I'm so sorry Marik. You shouldn't have had to see that."

He shook his head, still sniffling. "You're not gonna leave me are ya Temmy?"

His question stunned me into silence for a moment. I wasn't sure what to say. "Marik, I-"

"You said th-that you don't m-matter. But y-you do!" He cut me off.

I took a deep breath, readying myself for this talk. "Marik, I have to get you away from dad. It's my job to make sure your safe."

"B-but what about y-you?"

I shook my head sadly, "I don't think I'll be able to."

"No!" He yelled, "You have to Temy! You have to!"

I put my hand on his shoulders, "I'm sorry, but it won't work."

"But you promised! You said you'd be okay! But you won't be! You lied!"

I felt tears well up in the rim of my eyes, and I tried to blink them back, "I know, I'm sorry, but sometimes.." My voice broke, letting a tear escape. I cleared my throat and wiped it away, "Sometimes, things like this happen. You'll understand when you're older, I promise."

He spoke low, through his tears, "But I don't wanna leave you." Then he was yelling again. "I won't! You can't make me!"

"Marik, listen to me. You have to. I need you to be safe."

He glared at me as he yelled, "I hate you Temy!" And ran away.

"Marik! Come back!" I yelled, as I tried to run after him, once my shock wore off.

He was too far ahead of me, and I ended up loosing him. Running frantically around the forest area for him, I prayed to whoever could here me he wouldn't hurt himself. But, of course, my fear was realized. I heard a high pitched scream sound from somewhere to the left of me, and quickly ran that way.

It felt like it took a life time to find him, but when I did, my heart sank. He was lying on the ground, face smudged with dirt, and tears. But what caught my attention was his ankle, twisted in an unnatural direction. I kneeled down beside him, setting my hand on his arm. "Marik, I'm gonna pick you up, okay? And its gonna hurt."

He just whimpered softly, as I positioned my arms under him. As I lifted him off the ground, he screamed loudly.

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts, but it'll be over soon. Just hang in there." I repeated this the whole way back to the rest of our group. They all came running when they saw me walking with a hurt and crying Marik in my arms. I looked between Mahad and Yugi, panicking. "Please tell me one of you has a cell phone with you. I can't carry him all the way to a hospital like this."

Yugi shook his head. "I think I left mine at home."

I looked to Mahad, silently pleading him to tell me he had one. And for once in my life, I actually heard some good news. He nodded, and took his cell phone out of his pocket.

"But there's probably no service out here." Yugi spoke up again.

"They'll still get the call. We can't talk, but they'll be able to find us." Mahad explained.

I couldn't even talk. I just stood there, waiting for something to happen. Everything I learned to do in this situation seemed to have abandoned me. Mahad gave his phone to Yugi, instructing him to make the call, turned toward me to tell me to set him on the blanket, walked over to Bakura, and -to my utter horror- walked away with him.

Instead of following him like I wanted to, I set Marik on the blanket, as instructed. I sat by his side, letting him hold my hand, and trying not to think about the fact that the paramedics would have to call my father. After about three minutes, Yugi plopped down beside me, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"He'll be alright. It's just his ankle Atem." He tried, unsuccessfully, to comfort me.

I sighed softly, and looked at him. "I know but…This shouldn't have happened. It wouldn't have if I would have just…" I looked away from him, staring at the trees.

"Just what?" He asked me, confused.

I sighed again, trying to think of what exactly I was trying to say. "I don't know."

We sat in silence until the ambulance got there. They told us that only one person could go with them, so I looked at Yugi before I climbed in with the EMTs, "Meet me there? Please."

He just nodded.

It took about fifteen minutes to get to the hospital. They rushed Marik down the hall, through some double doors, and someone told me to wait in the waiting room. I sat there for what felt like hours, before a doctor finally came out, to tell me he fractured his leg, sprained his ankle, and had a minor concussion.

"So, can I take him home?"

"Well, normally, I'd say yes, but since he's so young, I think it would be better to keep him here over night, just to keep an eye on his concussion."

I nodded, "Alright…"

"There's just one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"We contacted your father to let him know what happened, he said to tell you he was coming back early to check on your brother."

_Shit. _ I just nodded, and asked what room Marik was in, trying to keep calm. The doctor directed me to room 213, before he ran off, with his pager in his hand. I stood outside the room for a couple minutes, just staring in at my sleeping brother. This day was supposed to be fun for him, but instead it turned into complete shit, because I couldn't keep my feelings to my damned self. And on top of everything, our dad was coming home two weeks early. I wondered idly how close he would come to killing me this time, and how long I'd have to spend in the hospital, if he even decided to take me to one. I hit my head against the door as I thought. I stood like that for about five minutes, until suddenly my head hit a hand instead of the door, and I heard a small yelp of pain. I looked over to see Yugi standing there, nursing his hand, and raised my eyebrows at him, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doing?"

I sighed sadly, "Yugi, I need to talk to you…"

I saw him look down at his hands sadly, from the corner of my eye. "It's alright, I get it."

I furrowed my brow in confusion, and looked back at him. "What do you mean?"

"You don't have to let me down easy Atem. I know you regret... you know."

My eyes went wide at his accusation. "No! I mean yeah, but- It's not like that. I shouldn't have… but not because.. I just… that's not what I wanted to talk to you about"

"Oh… Then what _did_ you want to talk to me about?"

I looked around for a second, noticing Mahad for the first time since they got there**. "**We should go outside…" I looked up at my friend, "Do you mind staying with Marik for a while?"

He shook his head, "Not a problem."

"Thanks," And with that, I took Yugi's hand, and led him outside where we could talk without anyone hearing us. We sat on a bench, and I sighed looking anywhere but at Yugi.

Yugi just sat next to me, waiting patiently.

Finally, I looked into his eyes, "This was a mistake. We shouldn't hang out anymore."

"What? Why?" He got to his feet, eyes wide, and full of hurt.

"Because, it's just… it's better this way, trust me."

"No, tell me why."

"Why does it matter? It's not going to change anything."

"Because I want you to admit it."

"Admit what?"

"Admit that you wish you didn't kiss me."

"Wha- No… I already told you, that's not what this is about!" I didn't understand why he kept coming to that conclusion, but it was starting to piss me off.

"Then tell me why."

I wanted to tell him the truth more than anything, but I knew it was a bad idea. Unfortunately, I also knew there was no other explanation, so I gave up, and told him the one thing I never wanted to tell him, "Fine, you're right. I regret it. Happy?"

"Sure, I'm freaking ecstatic. Whatever, I guess I'll leave you alone then." Without another word, he turned on his heal, and stalked off.

I sighed, trying to clear my thoughts. At least that part was over. Now I just had to get rid of Mahad, and hope, I would survive whatever my dad decided to do to me. It was too late to try to get Marik away from all this, but he'd eventually go on another business trip. Or, if I was lucky, he'd go back to finish whatever business he was attending to now. Either way, I'd get my little brother to a safe place.

I had been sitting there for about fifteen minutes lost in thought, when Mahad walked out.

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you. What are you doing out here?" He looked around for a second, confusion clear on his face, "Where's Yugi?"

I shrugged, "Not here anymore. Look, I shouldn't have told you that you could stay with us."

He looked taken aback, "Why?"

"Because you can't. You should just go back."

"Oh yeah? Is this you talking, or your dad?"

I rolled my eyes, "Shut the hell up. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Really, because I think I'm talking about the fact that you're letting your dad control you and you're gonna end up getting yourself, _and_ Marik killed."

I shook my head. "My dad's not coming back for a couple more weeks. By that time, we'll be long gone."

"So, why don't you come back with me? I have a place to stay, and I don't really think he'd come looking for you there."

That gave me an idea. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I had to try, so I acted like I was thinking for a moment, before I said, "Okay, but we have to leave as soon as Marik gets out of the hospital."

He seemed surprised at how easy it was to talk me into leaving with him. "Alright, cool. Well, the doctor said Marik won't be awake for a while cuz of the pain meds they gave him, so did you want to go find Yugi, and tell him goodbye?"

I just shook my head, "Nah, he's gonna call me later tonight, I'll tell him then."

He shrugged lightly, "Alright then. Hey, what'd you guys come out here to talk about anyway?"

"Ehh, I don't think you really want to know."

This made him laugh, as he elbowed me in the side lightly, "C'mon, just tell me."

"Alright, but I'm telling you, you really don't want to know."

"I think I can handle it."

I shrugged. "If you think so. Right before you found me sitting on that log, I kissed him, and then ran away. Which is _why _you found me on that log."

"Whoa… didn't know you swung that way man." He joked.

"Nether did I actually."

"Well that's confusing."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"So…?"

"So, what?"

"What happened?"

"Oh, nothing. We're just friends"

"Seriously?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Nope, not when it's you."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh please. Do you remember Rebecca?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, "That girl I had a crush on in third grade?"

"Yup, that's the one."

"Yeah… what about her?"

"Remember, you gave her a card you made, telling her you liked her? She hugged you; you blushed and ran away, and never spoke to her again!"

"Hey! That was totally different. She talked to her freaking teddy bear like it was a real person. She creeped me out."

"That's just an excuse. Just admit you have relationship issues."

"I do _not_ have relationship issues."

"You make the first move, and then run away when they go for it. If that's not issues, I don't know what is."

"Two people don't count as issues. Especially when one was in third grade."

"They do when they're the only two times you've gotten close to having a relationship. Especially sense you're sixteen."

"I've had relationships before…"

"Yeah? With who?"

I thought for a second, trying to come up with someone, but I couldn't think of anyone.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

We laughed for a minute, before I got off the bench to go inside, Mahad following close behind me.

Mahad said he had some things to take care of, so we decided to meet at the hospital in a couple hours.

I knew it wouldn't be long before my dad was back, so I went home to pack Marik's things, and get ready for my plan. I grabbed a small duffle bag out of a hall closet, stuffed his clothes in there with a note pinned to one of his shirts, explaining why I had to do what I was going to do, and asking Mahad to take care of Marik. I wrote a letter to Yugi, telling him I was sorry, and that I lied. I was glad I got to kiss him. I explained that there was no other way I could think of to keep him from getting mixed up in this. When I was done addressing the letter, I left it on the table on top of the blanket I had told him he could have, searched my dad's room for his video cameras, set them up all over the house, grabbed the duffle bag of Marik's stuff, and left to the hospital once again.

I sighed in relief when I was Marik sitting up, talking to a nurse. He beamed the second I walked through the door, but his smile faded quickly and he glared at me. The nurse noticed the tension, and left us alone.

"Marik, listen-"

"No." He shook his head, and looked away.

I set the bag down next to his bed, and kept talking like he hadn't interrupted me, "Mahad's gonna be here in about an hour. I need you to tell him I'm taking care of some things, and I won't be able to be here tomorrow, when they discharge you. He needs to take you with him anyway, and I'll catch up as soon as I can."

He looked confused but nodded anyway, knowing that what I was saying was important even though he didn't understand it. "Kay."

I hugged him tightly, as I said, "I love you kid. Remember that."

He sniffed, and I could tell he was crying when he said, "I love you too Temy."

I straightened up, and started to the door, "I have to go now. Bye Marik."

"Bye Temy…" He waved slightly, as tears fell freely down his face.

I looked at my watch as I walked out the doors of the hospital. I had fifteen minutes before my dad would be back. I knew he'd stop at home first, so I ran all the way back. I left the front door open, and started throwing things around, braking whatever I could. I ran upstairs and kicked his bedroom door in, thrashing everything in sight. When things were as bad as they could get, I turned on all the cameras I had set up, and waited.

About ten minutes later, I heard my dad pull up in the driveway, and took a long, steadying breath as I stood in the entrence between the living room and kitchen. This was it. No matter what happened in the next fifteen minutes, it would all be over. I would be dead and he would be in prison, or _he_ would be dead, and _I _would be in prison. I didn't care either way.

His eyes were wide with rage as he walked in the door. "What the hell happened here boy?" He asked, voice low and menacing.

I just shrugged, "What does it look like?" I replied sarcastically.

That was all it took. Suddenly he was next to me, throwing me down to the ground. I jumped back up and swung my fist at his face. I heard a crack and knew I had broken his nose. This stunned him, I had never retaliated before. He only paused for a moment, but it was enough time for me to gain a small advantage. I swung at him again, this time hitting him in the gut. He oomphed, and swung back full force, hitting me in the chest and knocking the air out of my lungs. I coughed and slid to the floor. He continued, kicking me in the stomach as I doubled over, trying to catch my breath. Suddenly I was being pulled to my feet by my hair, and he through me across the room. I felt a sharp pain in my lower back when I landed. He didn't advance at me again, like I thought he would. The bastard just stood there with a blank face, watching me as I tried in vain to stand up. Finally, I understood when I felt the blood. I felt my back where the sharp pain was, and gasped at what I felt. A stake knife was protruding out of my lower back. All I could do was sit there in wonder, as I went light headed and everything started going black. The last thing I remember before the blackness completely swallowed me was laughing. The sound was raspy, and foreign, but filled with joy. It was finally over.

**A/N: The story isn't over, so keep in tune :) Review please!**


	8. AN

**Sorry guys, I know it's taking me forever to get another chapter up, but I've been busy with school, friends, and looking for a job and I've been fighting a serious case of writer's block .. I probably wont be able to put up the next chapter for a while but just to keep you interested here's a small part from what I've written so far.**

**Yugi's pov**

I was sitting on my bed, looking out the window when someone knocked on my door, and walked in without waiting for me to answer. "Yugi? Hey, what are you doing in here?"

I shrugged, "Thinking I guess…"

Tea moved to stand next to me as she asked, "About what?"

I looked at her for a moment, wondering if I should tell her. Though I knew it would probably just freak Atem out more. Tea wasn't the type to gossip, so I doubted he would find out, but I didn't know if I could keep the fact that I told someone a secret from him. Plus I also couldn't even _begin_ to fathom what his reaction would be if I told him Tea knew, and I didn't want to chance loosing him as a friend all together. But I had no idea what to do, or what any of it meant. Tea was good with stuff like that. "Atem kissed me…"

Her mouth popped open in surprise. That was obviously the last thing she was expecting to hear. It took a little while, but she composed herself again and asked, "And that's a bad thing?"

"No." Was all I said, still not looking at her.

"What is it then?" She did nothing to hide the confusion in her voice.

I sighed heavily, "It's a long story…"

"Go ahead, I've got time."

I shrugged before I began recounting the day's events, leaving out certain details to avoid questions I couldn't answer without breaking my promise to Atem.

She was quiet, and listened intently throughout the entire story. When I finished she stood there quietly for a few seconds, then asked, "So now you're not sure what to do?"

"I have no idea. I mean, I'd be okay with staying friends and forgetting about the whole thing, but I'm not sure how to bring it up… or if I even should. And plus, I'm not even sure he wants to talk to me right now. What if he's still freaked out about it?"

She shook her head slowly, "I don't know, Atem's… different than most people. You just have to do what you think is best, and hope it works."

I nodded and sighed, "You're right… so what do you think I should do?"

She shook her head smiling slightly, "You know him better than me, what do _you_ think you should do?"

"I have absolutely _no_ idea." I flopped back to lie on my back with my hands resting on my face, as I made an exasperated noise.

"Do you think he would have kissed you if he didn't really want to?"

I shook my head, "Not really, but I never expected him to kiss me in the first place!"

"So you know he wanted to kiss you."

"What? No, that's not what I said…"

She laughed softly, "You said he wouldn't have kissed you if he didn't want to. That implies he _did_ want to."

"I said I don't _think _he would."

"Well we can't have the actual answers, so you're just gonna have to go on what you think."

"I guess… but what if I'm wrong?" I asked worried about what would happen if I screwed things up even more.

She shook her head again, with a disapproving look on her face, "You've got to stop doubting yourself Yugi. The more you doubt yourself, the more likely it is that you'll screw up. Don't think about what could make it worse, think about what's gonna fix it."

"I'll try…"

She smiled brightly at me, "Great. So, where were we?"

"Atem wanted to kiss me…"

"Right. Have you ever thought that maybe he's just scared of his own feelings? It might not be as easy for him as it was for you. You have a family who don't judge you, he may not be that lucky."

Finally I decided what to do. "I should go talk to him…"

Tea just nodded slightly, and walked out of my room.

I sighed as I got up putting my shoes back on.

Just as I was about to walk out the front door, my dad cleared his throat. "Where do you think your going?"

I rolled my eyes before I turned around to face him, "I was gonna go hang out with my friend…"

He shook his head, "Not before you do your chores. I told you when you first came here, your chores and homework come first, friends come second. You already left once today without doing them."

"Can't I do them when I get home?" I pleaded with him.

He folded his arms across his chest and shook his head again. "You're lucky you're not grounded for earlier. Now go do your chores.

My shoulders slumped as I brushed passed him to get the vacuum. I heard Joey laughing at me in the kitchen, and shot him a dark look though I knew he couldn't see it. I rushed through vacuuming the living room and sweeping the kitchen, then forgot to put a new bag in the trash can when I took out the trash. I yelled to my dad that I was done as I tried to run out the door before he could say anything about the half-assed job I had done, but he was already two steps ahead of me. There he stood, right in front of the door shaking his head at me.

"Now it's going to take you twice as long as it would have if you had just done it right the first time. Go back and re-vacuum, and put a bag in the trash can."

"Ah c'mon… I understand the trash bag, but why do I have to re-vacuum?"

"Because you did a crappy job Yug." Joey was the one to answer me, as he walked into the living room looking around at the carpet.

I sighed heavily at Joey's forthcoming behavior I found amusing as often as I found irritating. "Fine," was all I said as I set about my tasks once again. When I was done I looked to my dad with pleading eyes, "Can I go now? Please!"

He just stood there for a moment, studying me before he smiled and nodded, "Yeah, go ahead."

"Kay, I'll be back later!" I called behind me as I ran out the door. It took about five minutes to get to his house, though it felt like hours. I paused on the opposite side of the street, frozen in fear at what I saw. The front door was hanging wide open, a black car was parked in the driveway. I knew it had to be his dad's car. I was trying to think of what to do, but when I heard Atem shout right before a loud crashing sound, followed by an eerie silence; my common sense seemed to abandon me. I ran inside, following the sound of Atem's soft groans that seemed to be fading fast. I found him in the kitchen, sitting in a pool of blood, looking up at the ceiling with glossy eyes.

**It might change by the time I put the actual chapter up, but I hope you liked it anyway :) **

**I may decide to give you guys a little more in a while if I get enough reviews XD  
**

**Tell me what you think, and, of course, flames are welcome.  
**


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